I Still BelievelllThese Dreams
by Cyndi
Summary: Sequel to BelievelllRealityVoid failed to destroy the anime world, so now she's after the next worst thing...our dreams! What are Piccolo and I going to do? FINISHED
1. Prologue

Self-insertion warning, as usual. The person in this story is the real ME, not an avatar and not some character. This is just to clarify it to a few who still don't get it. It's been awhile since I've written. I know, I know, but I'm still alive! 

The last episode of DBZ was extremely emotional for me. So fueled by emotion and hope, I sat down and spent the next few days writing this out. 

_I Still Believe_

A lump swelled in my throat as the image of a laughing Goku and Uub shot off towards the horizon and disappeared off my TV screen. There was no 'next time on Dragonball Z'. The credits with the electric guitar music started right away. 

It was Monday, the seventh of April in the year two thousand and three, and the last episode of Dragonball Z had just ended. With a heavy heart I stopped the VCR from recording, erased the program set to record it in case I wasn't home when the show was on and turned everything off. 

"...and that's that," I whispered with tears in my eyes, "Thanks for the great adventures, guys. But I won't let it go, you won't fade away from me." With my left hand I reached over to pick up my Piccolo action figure - a gift for my twenty-second birthday - and brushed my finger across the plastic scowling face. I always keep it right in front of my computer so I can see it all the time. 

My dad's shadow slipped across the wall in the family room. He appeared in my bedroom doorway with a Diet Pepsi in his hand and sat down when I cleared my rear out of the computer chair. I didn't say anything to him. 

I exited my bedroom, turned left and went into the bedroom right next door to watch some more TV. Yu Yu Hakusho was on, but I couldn't focus on the program. DBZ was over, all I had were the tapes and reruns. It would never be the same! I felt a knot of pain in my throat. Another formed deep in the middle of my pelvis, a fire that tightened my abdominal muscles. Damn cramps, it was the second day of my period and I was as wretched as ever, emotionally and physically. My head hurts, my uterus hurts, my butt hurts and all I want is more DBZ, dammit! Tears threatened to fall, but didn't quite make it to my eyes. I wanted it to hurry up and be past eight o'clock so I could sneak back online.   
  


Eight o'clock came slowly and went fast. I returned to my room after the usual evening talk with my dad that he and I do every night before he goes to sleep. I always give him a kiss and paddle his butt - something I've always done since I was little. If he's bent over or not looking I always give him a smack and he'd go 'oof, who paddled my butt?' or I'd say 'It needs a bullseye!' Don't get it in a wrong light, it's something I've done since I was really little and thought the sound of my hand hitting his pants was funny. Sometimes it still is to me. 

Upon entering my room again, I shut the door and flipped on the computer while turning on my tape, which held the first episodes of DBZ. The guy who role plays as Freeza was on, his name is James, and I talked to him for awhile. He lamented over the end of our favorite show along with me and made me feel a bit better. I gave him the link to my site where the tale of my adventures with Piccolo sat, waiting to be read again. James liked the site and started to read the story, but he had to go, and told me he bookmarked the site. I laughed and let him go. 

Look out, Void, another Believer knows you exist. 

I was then compelled by a strange urge to open the site myself and read. I read my own story again, reliving the experiences and feelings. Then I heard my dad sneeze in the next room. Fearing I'd get caught online when I shouldn't be, I shut off the computer and wandered out of my room to take all the medicines I take before retiring at night. I said all my prayers and did all my nightly rituals(this is an autism thing that I happen to do) so I'd be ready to hit the sack without interruption. 

But once the lights were out, I couldn't seem to fall asleep. My cramps got worse when I laid down. Not unbearable, but extremely annoying. They say cramps are caused by the uterus contracting too hard or too fast....hell...mine was probably twisting in knots! Hopefully the Tylenol will kick in and relieve me. 

Through the pain I started missing DBZ for the millionth time. Watching tapes did nothing to make the empty feeling disappear. 

I shut my door again, turned on the bedside light and pondered what to do until I felt tired enough to sleep. Something under the bed drew my gaze, so I reached down and pulled the blue plastic rolling tray out from under my bed. In it were all the odds and ends I've collected over the years: 

My mass of buttons in a Rubbermaid container, I still collect buttons if I find them on the ground. Old doll clothes that go on Barbie dolls I don't own anymore(I miss my Mermaid Barbie, she was my fave!). Controllers for the Nintendo, which I no longer have. Old cassette tape cases without labels or tapes. A Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers pencil...the Pink Ranger was my favorite. Batteries for my flashlight. The motherboard of a broken Nintendo cartridge I'd dismantled out of curiosity. Some Jurassic Park pogs and a few slammers from back in the day when milk caps were in. The blue and silver tassel from my high school graduation cap, go Villa Park Spartans! A fake heart I used as a prop on Halloween. Cables for my old stereo that are useless now. 

And a little metal box. 

Ahhhh, that brought back some memories that made me smile! I lifted the tiny stainless steel box into my palm and flipped it open, revealing the small orange orb and gleaming chain. Fourteen stars glittered hopefully when I ran my finger over the smooth bauble. 

"Hello," I whispered lovingly, "It's been a long time since I've seen you...two years? Yeah." Two years for me, seventeen years in the DBZ realm. Did Piccolo still remember me after all that time? Was it worth the risk of going back to his world to see him? 

Yes, it was. I needed his comfort...that is if I hadn't become just another face in his memory. 

I slipped the necklace over my head, pulled my long hair out from underneath the chain and flopped down onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. The sparkling orb fell to the middle of my chest, right underneath the image of Piccolo on my gray DBZ T-shirt. Small tingling sensations slid through my body, the cool chain warming against the back of my neck. Above my dresser, the mirror shimmered and rippled. 

Ever since I'd moved to a new home, I wondered if Piccolo came through the mirrored closet doors in my old place and found it empty. Moving was a nightmare, but fortunately my bedroom is arranged pretty much as it was in the old house. Except my computer is set up on the opposite wall since there's a window on the north wall. My dresser is next to the bed and my Piccolo poster, now in a gold frame, is up on the wall by my east facing window. It's visible from the ground outside, anybody walking past my house at night can see it if I have the blinds open. 

I miss having air-conditioning in this little nineteen fifties house. It has central heating. That means the rooms are a little small, but the layout is neat. I can walk from my parents' bedroom to their bathroom, turn right, pass through the kitchen, turn right again and go through the living room and family room to come right back where I started. 

But, dammit, I MISS AIR-CONDITIONING! California heat sucks without it, and my room always seems to be the hottest next to the kitchen after mom was cooking in it. It doesn't matter how much I do or don't open my windows, on the hottest days my room is a friggin sweat lodge. Even at night. 

There were only three mirrors in my house large enough to travel between realities. The mirror above my dresser, the mirror above my mom's dresser and the mirror on my dad's closet door. I chose my dresser mirror, which was the only one I could use without waking anyone else up. 

I cleared off the dresser so I wouldn't break anything, much of what I kept there was irreplaceable. Then I climbed on and crawled into the black, shape-festooned void I hadn't seen in ages. I stood up. Ahead of me stretched a shimmer coming from whatever surface I was going to exit through. I had to be very careful, if I came out the bottom of an airplane or Korin Tower, I would be dead meat. 

My tentative steps found me gazing out across the front of Kami's...er....Dende's Lookout. I pushed through the edge of a tall, silver refrigerator and fell flat on the floor. That didn't help my cramps much. Darn it. Well at least I know that Bulma was probably bitchy because she had cramps too, so I can't complain about her complaining too much anymore. 

The kitchen was pretty deserted. I helped myself to a gulp of chilled water from the fridge and walked out into the fading daylight. More silence. Then came a flapping noise, a sound I knew all too well. 

Piccolo stood pensively at the edge of the Lookout with his head bowed and his arms crossed. All those old feelings I'd been carrying around rushed back to the surface until the world sparkled. I could hardly control the pounding of my heart or my shaking frame as I walked closer to the tall, green figure, my bare feet making no sound on the chilly marble ground. I stopped and stood beside him like it was perfectly normal and no time had passed since we were apart. My hair soon joined the motion of his cape. 

He didn't look any different than when I last saw him. Not a day older. Then again, neither did I. My hair got longer. Wow, big deal. 

Finally I couldn't take the silence anymore. Just as I was turning to speak, Piccolo released a deep, rumbling sigh and spoke first, "I knew you'd come." Then he turned to me, opened his eyes and curled half his mouth into a smirk. I saw a smile behind his dynamic onyx eyes. Eyes that still captivated me in their endless darkness. My heart started beating a lot faster than it was before. 

I made no effort to control the smile pulling at my cheeks and replied softly, "I had to come see you again...I was afraid you'd forgotten about me in all those years that went by and all." 

"Feh," Piccolo's smirk made one eye squint, mocking me playfully. Then he broke into a warm grin that flashed his fangs and lit up his whole face. His rare, wonderful smile. He reached into his belt, produced a familiar gold band and placed it on his ring finger where it gleamed brightly in the setting sun. "There was rarely a day that I didn't think about you at least once. I must be going soft." 

I giggled and showed him my left hand. Because I was sick on Christmas and lost weight(down to seventy-seven fricken pounds!), I'd shifted the gold band to my middle finger, but it was still there. Then I got serious and hung my head, "So Goku went off to train Uub...and the adventure is over in my world. Now they'll air the next series, GT, I think...but not for a while." 

Piccolo heaved a heavy sigh and placed a hand under my chin. He raised my head up and met my eyes fiercely, "Just because you don't see our adventures doesn't mean they don't still happen. You still have Believers out there writing about us, dreaming about us and talking about us. More still come to see the story you wrote about our great adventure with Void - " 

"...and that reminds me... Piccolo, let's sit down for this." 

The green alien nodded and lowered into the lotus position. I lowered in front of him, our knees touching, and took a deep breath. 

I told him all about September eleventh, the constant threat of terrorism and the war going on in Iraq. I told him everything I knew about Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, which wasn't much. I had to explain to him that countries were like giant cities with small villages inside - a concept he understood better - and just how evil Saddam's behavior truly is. I told him about what he did to the Kurds and the rest of his people. Of how he lived lavishly, hogging up money that should be buying food for his country. What a pig! This dictator is just like Freeza was when he was evil. Right down to killing people who tell him news he doesn't want to hear! 

" - so that's all I know, and it's horrible! I think it's Void coming back again...seriously! Piccolo, let's go to Iraq and kick Saddam's ass ourselves! We can stop this war together!" I pumped my fist in the air, "We can beat him!" 

Piccolo eyed me strangely, a sharply-defined brow ridge pricked higher than its counterpart and raising the perpetual shadow off one gleaming eye. He sobered, inhaled and gave me his matter-of-fact response, "Cyndi, we can't interfere with the war in your world." 

My fist dropped. I facevaulted sideways. Then my head grew three times its size, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING?! INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE _DYING_ IN THIS STUPID WAR! WE CAN STOP IT!!!" 

"_HEY!_" Piccolo snarled at me, baring his ever-sexy fangs. Startling me into calming down. He continued when my head was clear, "If you go saving your world from everything that happens to it, the people will never learn to save themselves. Goku had the idea when he trained Goten and Trunks and then went off to train Uub...he couldn't be around all the time, you know. Besides, if _you_ got involved it would upset the balance again. THAT would spawn another Void. And if another Void was spawned, she'd be more powerful than the last one." He closed his shining eyes and lowered his head thoughtfully, "It's funny....Void was right when she said nobody could ever defeat her power. From what you've said, her threat still exists. So you have to stay out of the fight, kid. It's hard, I know, but you have to trust your world's warriors." 

I sighed and unconsciously took Piccolo's large green hand in mine. He used his free hand to reach over my shoulder and gently pull my hair perpendicular with my head. All three and a half feet of it. "It's gotten longer since I last saw ya. If you go super, you'll have Vegeta beat." He let it drop again placed his arm back where it was. 

"Yeah...human hair grows a lot if it's left alone." I smiled, "At least the length of mine startles people into a second look. It keeps me from being too plain." 

The Namek eyeballed me, "Careful, don't get lost underneath it all." 

I caught the gleam in his eye and smiled, Piccolo actually made a joke! "Very funny...I could get naked and ride a horse like Lady Godiva." 

He sweatdropped and obviously didn't have a clue who I was talking about. I shook my head to dismiss it and scooted over, curling up in his lap. The stupid cramps were back again with a vengeance and Piccolo's lap was the perfect place to weather the pain. I wrapped part of his cape around myself and cuddled my cheek against his chest. I still think his cape is made out of the same material as bedsheets, or something extremely similar. 

Poor Piccolo was in such an awkward spot! He grumbled under his breath and placed a careful arm around me, although I'm sure he just wanted to disappear in embarrassment. "Are you...uh.... what's wrong with you?" 

Now it was my turn to sweatdrop. "It's um....ah....a female thing. Too gross to explain. You remember those certain days in the time chamber where I was completely miserable and getting blood everywhere? Same thing." 

He shuddered at the memory, as did I. There weren't any pads in there(and I didn't think to go buy a whole bunch before going in) so everything I sat on, slept in and wore was a bloody, nasty mess! Yuck indeed! Even my Namekian friend over there was disgusted with it because he had to keep making me a new gi every day. I laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn't much fun. 

I also remembered that wonderful day when Piccolo and I made love in the bath pit, and blushed profusely. Unable to contain myself, I cooed, "You're still as sexy as ever, you know." 

Purple gathered in his cheeks and he chuckled at me, shaking his head. I felt his chest bounce under my cheek. "You haven't changed one bit, have you?" He seemed pleased at this. His intense gaze bore into my skull and I looked up to meet it. 

"Glad to know someone appreciates me for staying as I am." I gave his hand a pat and climbed off his lap before he removed me himself. One thing I learned about Piccolo is he doesn't mind affection as long as it doesn't go on for too long. I missed his warmth already. "I wish I could've met Goku. I probably should have the last time I was here, but he was kinda busy with Vegeta and all..." 

Piccolo smirked and shook his head, "Goku is as reliable as the weather. He's so into helping other people that he'll ditch a party just to go save some eggs." 

"I saw that!" I laughed, "And you tapping your foot at the party...and ChiChi throwing her back out....heheh, it was good seeing you get out and have some fun." I took hold of his muscular arm and went on with my jabber, "But it bothers me that Goku and the other Saiyajins grew so strong and you fell into the background. You haven't given up fighting completely, have you?" 

"You forget that those guys are a powerful race of fighters. I don't have the appetite for power that I used to, so no, it doesn't bother me as much as it would have years ago." The tall, green man shifted and peered down at me after absorbing the last part of my question. An old glint shimmered through his slanted eyes, "Me? Give up fighting? Never! I still do if I really have to." 

"But you said you were getting too old for that when you went to the Tournament. You're not THAT old, Piccolo! You're what? Thirty-one in Earth years, I think...my math still sucks. Sheesh that makes you older than I am now." However I couldn't avoid giggling, if Nameks aged two years for every Earth year, that meant he was sixty-two in Namek years! And he was only fourteen Earth years old when I met him! Twenty-eight Namek years. Yikes! Okay, maybe he was a _little_ on the middle-aged side. 

He snorted and looked away again, over at the horizon where the sun was riding low in the sky. "Actually I didn't see the point in entering a competition I knew I wouldn't win." 

I nodded and fell silent again, unable to find anything else to speak about. Finally, though, I asked, "You wouldn't happen to know where village is that Goku went with Uub, would you?" 

Piccolo shook his head, frowning, "But I'm sure I'll sense him when he and Uub really get heavy on the training. Don't worry about Goku, Cyndi, he'll be fine. He knows what he's doing." 

My lips curled into a half smirk and I nodded my head. Again came the silence. I linked my fingers together behind my back and wandered a few steps closer to the edge of the Lookout. Close enough to see over the edge, but not so close that I could look straight down. Thousands of feet below me stretched the glorious expanse of soft green forest and puffy white clouds. Piccolo stayed where he was. I got the feeling that he was watching me, but I didn't peek over my shoulder to check. I watched the bright sun turn orange and dip under the horizon in a splash of gold, red and pink. 

Soon the stars were peeking out all around us. I stretched my hands up as if to touch them and smiled, they seemed so close! 

Behind me, Piccolo chuckled and I pulled my hands down. Heat flooded my cheeks. For a moment there I'd forgotten I wasn't alone. "Um...I can't help it! The sky's so pretty!" I turned to Piccolo and smiled shyly, "Why don't we go fly around for awhile? It'll be like old times! Dende wouldn't mind, would he? I mean...well you know...he can take care of himself for a while, can't he?" 

The tall, sexy Namek shrugged his cape-festooned shoulders and tilted his head at me, "He's a grown Namek now, I'm sure he can handle this place on his own." Piccolo uncrossed his arms, letting his hands fall at his sides while he gazed down at me. 

"Then let's go..." I put my hands on his chest, tried to give him a shake and grinned. Trying to shake Piccolo is like trying to move a redwood tree - impossible. "Please? For old time's sake," to ensure a more positive response, I made sure my eyes were as wide and anime-ishly innocent as possible. If anything it'd ANNOY him into doing it! 

Piccolo heaved a large, dramatic sigh through his nose and mouth. "You're impossible," he rumbled coolly, but he went along with it. I felt him bend down to slide a hand under my hair and onto my back, and the other arm reached behind my knees. Without effort he lifted my small body close to his. I wrapped my arms securely around his neck and nuzzled my forehead against his smooth cheek. He still had a scent of salt and the outdoors about him. 

"Ready?" He asked, his whispery voice right near my ear. 

"You bet," I whispered back, still unable to contain the silly smile plastered to my face. 

With that, Piccolo approached the edge of the Lookout. He pushed off with his feet and glided across the open air like a boat on water. It was such a rush to know that we should have been falling and his ki was the only reason we didn't both drop to our deaths. I clung a little tighter to Piccolo's neck as he banked right and flew for a while, carrying me over the well-lit Satan City. Some of the stars must have fallen to create all those twinkling little lights on the ground. 

Then, out of the blue, Piccolo pulled up and yanked me into a giant loop. I screamed in surprise and clutched him in a death grip. "AAAAAH! Don't do that without telling me!" 

"What?" He did it again, faster, and then for good measure he pulled a corkscrew turn and a barrel roll. All within the space of thirty seconds. I was effectively dizzy, spiral eyes and all. "This?" he added on, his tone mocking as his cape untangled from around us. 

I regained my composure and laughed out loud, "You ass...okay NOW I'm ready! Since when did you get a sense of humor, anyway?" 

Piccolo just shook his head and turned around, heading the way we came. "I dunno. Maybe it's from hanging around Goku so much." He scowled ahead, obsidian eyes reflecting sparkles from the sky and city below. Those gorgeous eyes still held my universe within them. Another turn, not quite as sharp as before, and then suddenly.....down again! Back up! Around and higher still! 

"WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I shrieked with the thrill. 

Next thing I knew, Piccolo and I were floating above the half-thrashed World Martial Arts Tournament arena. Piccolo took me down and I was able to stand barefoot on the, rough, cold stone arena floor where all of the Z fighters fought in the tournaments. It was pretty neat to see just how huge the place really was, probably around the size of a baseball stadium. Hard to tell since stadiums are round and this arena was a large square like Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. 

I walked forward to inspect the craters Goku and Uub left behind. The biggest one went down underground, but it was too dark to see how far. It stretched from one side of the arena floor to the other. I picked up a small piece of stone as large as my fist and stuck it in my shorts pocket as a souvenir. 

"Wow! A TV just doesn't do battle damage justice!" 

Piccolo smirked. "No kidding," and swept me up in his long arms once again. 

We passed the Lookout and dove towards the desert where he trained Gohan so long ago. Feeling the cool night wind rush over my skin and hearing it swirl through his cape, as well as knowing I was safe in his arms, gave me a great sense of peace and satisfaction. 

I shut my eyes and inhaled his scent, "This is what I missed the most...flying with you." 

His angular green features softened a little, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Yeah, me too." Then he glared at me and hardened his tone. "But that doesn't mean I'm going soft, either!" 

It made me laugh, that was so typical of him! I craned my neck up and kissed his wind-cooled cheek. "I'd be worried if you went soft. No, seriously! But you look pretty cute when you laugh like you did at Mr. Satan that one episode. Go champ!" 

Piccolo snickered loudly at that, "I was laughing at the stupidity of the people. They'd buy anything with Mr. Satan's face on it, and they still do. Even though he's getting balder and uglier by the day, his fans just don't give up." 

"Piccolo, your fans are the same way in my world." I burst into giggles against his shoulderpad, "Except you're not even close to getting ugly." 

That got another chuckle from him, though faint and noticeable only by the movement of his chest. "Thanks...I think." He banked right and carried me through a wispy cloud that chilled me with cool mist. 

I sighed, unable to stop myself any longer. "Oh, just come here," I grabbed his furthest ear and pulled his head around so I could kiss him full on the mouth. Then I pulled back and said, "Now don't tell me you forgot how to do this in your 'old age'." 

Piccolo wrinkled his nose at me and let go of my legs so he could grab the back of my head. He yanked my face nearer to his and ravaged my mouth with his tongue. Then he pulled back and grabbed my legs like before, smirking smugly at my flushed face, "Does that answer your question? 

"Yyyyyyyyyeahhh...very much so...wow..." I replied blissfully, completely in Piccolo-overload, starry eyes and all. My heart pounded so hard I thought it was about to escape my chest and my body became a giant wad of jelly. I don't think anyone in the universe can kiss like he does. 

Piccolo just shook his head at me again and slipped me to arm's length, his large hands wrapping completely around my five-and-a-half inch diameter wrists like they were twigs. He bent one leg and twirled me around, then pulled me up and flipped over until I was dizzy yet again, but this time in a good way. "Had enough yet?" 

"Never!" I hugged him again when he eased me back to his chest. Flipping me around in a stomach-turning ride won't make me sick unless I just ate a big meal, which I hadn't done before I came here. Once again I'd run out of things to say. The awkward silence returned, but I don't think Piccolo minded it that much. Just being in his presence was enough to make me happy. 

I let my head fall back so I could see his handsome face at the edge of my vision, and beyond it the stars flickering like diamonds on blue-black velvet. They hung just out of reach. So close and yet so far. Up here with the one I dream of, nothing can touch me. It was so wonderful to be flying high in those strong arms again. A place where the rest of the world couldn't reach me. 

"Piccolo?" My voice came out small against the wind, we were turning around a mountain and drifting higher up again. 

His head turned, those hooded black orbs fixing onto me, urging me to continue. 

"Do you ever get scared? I mean....scared of everything just crashing around you and you won't be able to do anything to undo it?" 

Piccolo squinted at me and raised his gaze ahead again, but I saw that he was pondering his reply carefully. He rose up through another cloud and gave me his soft response, "Sometimes, but I don't think about it all the time. Besides," there was that smile again, so rare and wonderful, "I know there's always people like you and the Believers around to help me keep everything in line." 

I picked my head up and grinned back at him, "True...I feel safer knowing you're around to protect me. I know it sounds stupid but...sometimes if I'm in a situation where I'm really afraid or upset, I just imagine you standing behind me like you were when we fought with Void, and I don't feel as frightened." 

My Namekian friend shrugged one shoulder allowed himself another smirk, "Visualizing is good exercise for your confidence. I use it all the time." 

"Ahh." I placed my head against his shoulder and covered my mouth, a huge yawn overcoming me. The gentle motions of Piccolo's body as he flew were slowly making me drowsy. Spots and glowing thatch patterns danced in front of my eyes, the kind I see when I'm pretty close to falling asleep on the spot. 

Piccolo frowned at me when I yawned three more times within thirty seconds, "Are you up putzing around when you should be asleep?" 

"Mmhmm," came my sleepy answer. 

He seemed to ponder a minute, while I shut my eyes and fit my forehead against his cheek again. In my half-dozing state I felt him pull a hairpin turn and head back the way we came from. By the time we reached the Lookout and Piccolo spoke to me again, it was far away and echoing, "Where did you come from when you came here?" I was jolted from being almost asleep. It gave me that rushing, swirling sensation of a moving elevator. 

I picked my head up to stay awake a little longer. "The uh...fridge...from the mirror above my dresser. It's a tight fit. Best to tuck your legs up and fly through my side." 

Piccolo nodded his turban-adorned head, his face stoic. He took my suggestion and I soon found myself in the warm darkness of my room. The door was still shut, nobody would look in on me so I had nothing to worry about. Piccolo moved to drop me on the bed, but I clutched onto the front of his purple gi and gazed at him. 

"No...please, just hold me until I'm asleep, okay? Please, just this once, Piccolo?" 

Hot breath rushed over my cranium, ruffling my bangs. Broad shoulders heaved under several pounds of cloth and metal. "Sure," the tone was apathetic. In my room he knew nobody would come along and catch him being gentle. 

Piccolo sat down in the lotus position, facing my bed with his back against the wall. I curled up in his lap, my head against his chest so I could hear his methodical heartbeat. In the light from my bedside lamp, I got a great look at his face. 

Gone was some of the perfect teenage smoothness that I saw when he first entered my world. He had a few lines starting around his eyes. Otherwise he looked exactly the same - perfect. I stroked his cheek with my palm, kissed my fingertips and touched them to his moist lips. Then I gave him another kiss with my mouth. "I still love you, you know. Always will." 

Piccolo's reply? A faint grunt that hid a smile. I watched him squint at the bedside lamp, using his mind to turn it off. The room became instantly dark. He shoved a hand down into my pocket, removed the piece of stone I stuffed in it before it jabbed him in a bad spot, and dropped it next to his foot. Then his palm passed over my scalp, smoothing my hair down. He eased my head back onto his chest. Back to the heartbeat I discovered had picked up its tempo a little, "Shhh, sleep now." I felt him lean back a bit and wrap both edges of his cape around me so I'd be more comfortable. It was like being wrapped in the wings of an angel. 

Piccolo, forever my guardian angel. 

It was getting harder to stay awake. The warmth of the Namek's muscular body against mine gradually took away the chill of our flight. My eyes were so heavy and focusing them grew more difficult. I stopped trying, letting myself go limp. Just before drifting off, I felt his warm lips touch mine. His kiss followed me into my dreams. 

That night, tucked safely in Piccolo's arms, I slept better than I'd ever slept in my life.   
  


Morning found me curled up under the covers of my bed, hugging my stuffed Wile E. Coyote. It was ten o'clock. My mom had already put the cordless phone in my room and left to do her volunteer work at the church. The bedroom door gaped open, my cat Cutie Pie was asleep on the foot of the bed and the other two cats were chasing each other through the short hallway. Dickens galloped into my room and slid under the bed before Susie could catch her. 

Piccolo was nowhere to be found. Was it all a dream? 

I glanced over to see everything was back on my dresser, not one little trinket was out of place. 

Sighing bitterly, I threw my covers off and hopped out of bed on the side near the wall where Piccolo sat with me. It wasn't the usual side I got up from, but I didn't want to chance getting clawed if Dickens decided to swat at me from her hiding place. 

Before I could even take two steps, I smashed my toe against a piece of white stone laying on the floor by the wall. I reached down to pick it up, tossed it in the air and caught it in my fist, grinning with relief at my reflection in the rippling mirror. 

Piccolo was right! Just because the series stopped doesn't mean the adventures are over. They're just beginning. 

And I still believe. 

Do you? 


	2. Part One

Self-insertion and adult situations warning. It may take me a long time to write this story, just like Believe/Reality did(which you should read before you read this if you want to understand what all is going on). Please be patient with me. I have writer's block more often than not, and my short attention span makes writing my thoughts down a little tough. But like my last fic, this will be complete eventually! 

Additional note: Don't let the first scene in this fic scare you away...it's not what it seems! You'll have to read to find out what it is I'm talking about though ;D Please read, review and ENJOY. ^_^   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part One

~¤§¤~ 

_Hold fast to dreams_   
_For if dreams die_   
_Life is a broken-winged bird_   
_that cannot fly._   
_Hold fast to dreams_   
_For when dreams go_   
_Life is a barren field_   
_Frozen with snow._

-- Langston Hughes 

~¤§¤~ 

  
  
  


Piccolo loomed over the foot of my bed. His long, white cape flowed over his muscular body and hung in folds down his back. The cape was _all_ he wore. That is, if I didn't count the roguish smirk on his handsome green face. 

Off went the cape and heavy shoulderpads. THUD! The entire house shook. Piccolo clasped his hands together in front of him and tensed his arms so the muscles in his upper body all stood out in sharp relief. I nearly frothed at the mouth. So delicious...so sexy... 

Suddenly that angular face was coming closer. Piccolo crawled like a predator over my bed, letting me watch every muscle on his rugged frame ripple like liquid metal under his emerald skin. Once above me, he lowered down to cover my small body with his large one. I shivered as his warm skin seared mine. Our lips met and mingled. He shifted his attention to my neck. His sharp fangs danced dangerously around my jugular vein and windpipe, creating delicious sensations. Two warm antennae tickled my ear and throat. I wrapped my arms around his neck. Dragged my nails across his leathery Namekian flesh, making him arch his back. He pinned my wrists to the mattress after he'd had enough of my teasing. His hot breath drifted across my face, smelling slightly of water and sugar. 

A deep growl rumbled in his throat. "I want you..." 

Oh, how I so dearly wanted him, too. After seeing his little display I was more than ready to make love to him. I shuddered in delight, squirming under his careful grasp. "I want you more..." 

Those dark, enigmatic eyes softened. His once unreadable, expressionless face shone with naked passion. I saw him smile. Gently. Lovingly. 

"Tell me you love me," I breathed. 

Piccolo lowered his lips to mine. Against them, aching with desire, he whispered, "I love you." 

I closed my eyes and smiled, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Piccolo's hand moved up to my neck and - 

Before I realized what happened, the caressing hand clamped around my throat. My eyes shot open, I couldn't breathe! 

The demon shadow rose above me where my beloved Piccolo should have been. It resembled a very black version of Cell's first form. A hideous, deathly black that sucked in all light without reflecting it. I saw my reflection in a pair of cold silver eyes that held promises of death. A stinger-tipped tail dripping with acid and buzzing with pale electrical energy curved into view. The air was suddenly colder than the coldest part of the universe. I couldn't stop shivering. 

Cruel, echoing laughter roared through my ears. I tried to scream, my voice wouldn't work. 

"Hello, Cyndi!" Void bent down until her acidic eyes were inches from mine. She giggled mockingly in my face. "I'm baaaaaaaack!"   
  


"AAH!" I felt my legs jerk and opened my eyes to find myself alone in my room. My heart pounded in my chest. Sweat layered my forehead and neck. I shook all over like a leaf. 

Just a dream, the same damn dream for the second time in a row. 

I looked at the clock. Six-thirty...a far cry from the usual nine-thirty when I usually wake up. But it was Sunday, which meant I'd be getting up early anyway to sing with the choir at the Sunday mass. I sing Soprano, and I'm probably the youngest one in the whole choir. Everyone else is old enough to be my parents or grandparents. 

Sleep wouldn't return to me no matter how hard I tried. Defeated, I got up and took my pill. By the time I'd gone into the bathroom to splash water on my face and take a leak, it was six-fifty two. 

"Whoa, what are you doing up already?" Asked my dad. He was sitting on the couch, watching war coverage on the Fox News Network. 

I looked at him sleepily, my eyes not yet moist enough to make out his eyes behind his bifocals, "Bad dream, couldn't get back to sleep." Then I wandered into the kitchen to get myself some breakfast. Dad got up and went into my room to play some online cribbage. 

Turning on the faucet in the kitchen sink, I wet my fingers and wiped my eyes with them. Doing this has the same effect as coffee on me. Once my eyes are open right I'm usually alert. With one ear on the TV in the living room, I poured myself a bowl of Honeycombs cereal and wandered out to sit in the big recliner to watch a few minutes of the news. From what I heard our American troops rescued seven prisoners of war.....or refugees, I was still somewhat sleepy and my memory of the news is a bit foggy. 

I changed the channel to VH1 while chewing on some crunchy honey-goodness. Watching a music channel gets my mind in the right gear to sing with the choir. This is another autism ritual. If I don't listen to something musical, I don't seem to have the 'energy' to sing right. 

Now that I'd grown more alert, I let myself think about the nightmare. Something different happened in the dream the first time I had it, but it ended exactly the same way - with Void choking me. Why? 

No time to ponder it. Before I could say 'time flies' it was eight-fifteen. Time to get dressed, put on my makeup(I've actually started wearing makeup when I go out, that almost scares me) and get into my blue choir robe. I entered my room where dad was on the computer and picked out my usual black dress pants with the pin-stripes and a white V-neck blouse that dipped pretty low in the front. I have no cleavage whatsoever, but I'm surprised my dad let me keep this shirt. I guess he finally realized I wasn't a teenager anymore. Which was a GOOD thing, in many ways. 

Whenever I put on eyeshadow, I try to create the smokey-eyed Stevie Nicks look. I can do it pretty good now, but I really wish my stupid mascara wouldn't clump so much. When I finished applying the makeup, my blue eyes stood out with two shades of brown eyeshadow and black eyeliner accenting them, my cheeks were blushed a soft, barely-there pink(I'm pale so light colors work on me) and my lips were colored with my Sheer Lilac lipstick. I felt pretty. My dad always thinks my eyeshadow is too heavy, yet the ladies in the choir think it's fine. 

Dad came and knocked on the door, "Are you on schedule?" 

"Yep!" I called back as I put on some finishing touches and took care of the rest of my business. Then I went into my room to don all ten of my rings, my Virgin Mary necklace and my watch. I took my second pill of the day, grabbed my music and a bottled water. 

In the other room, dad's keys rattled. He appeared in the living room while I was climbing into my blue choir robe - it's easier for me to just wear the robe to and from church. That way I have plenty of time to use the bathroom and relax before Mass starts. 

"I'll warm up the car. Don't be too long." said dad quietly, so as not to wake up my still-sleeping mom. I just nodded and joined him in the car a few minutes later. My throat was all gunky like usual on Sunday morning - my vocal cords 'knew' they were going to be busy and were getting all lubricated up. I tuned out the sports radio station dad was listening to and stared out the window as we pulled out onto Tustin Avenue. 

Just to make conversation, I piped up, "Don't you just _hate_ those scary dreams that won't let you go back to sleep?" 

My dad smiled a bit, "Yeah, I had one this morning too. Don't remember it well enough to tell you about it. I hate those kinds of dreams." 

"Heh, yeah." I thought nothing of it and took a sip from my bottled water. Carefully so that I wouldn't rub off my stupid lipstick. If I don't lick my lips the stuff will actually stay on longer, but it's hard not to lick my lips! 

Before I knew it we had pulled into the church parking lot. I grabbed my backpack full of music and climbed out of the car. "Bye daddy!" 

"See ya, kid!" Dad answered. He waited until I had walked around behind the car before he pulled away and disappeared around the Ministry building where I was heading. The choir always warmed up in there before singing in Mass. I stepped through the door and rounded the small embankment where I was greeted by the white-haired, sweet-voiced choir director, Hayden. He was a southern gentleman of seventy years who grew up on music and could sing better than anyone I knew personally. I still swear that if he wasn't such a perfectionist with our choir, we wouldn't be as awesome as we are. We've improved so much over the past two years that I don't even remember what the choral group was like when I joined. 

"Good morning!" I called to him. 

Hayden looked up and brightened, "Hi!" 

Dropping my backpack, I took my seat and waited for the others to arrive so our warm-up could begin. As usual I was early so I had plenty of time to arrange my music. 

"Cyndi? You look a little tired. Is everything all right?" It wasn't uncommon for Hayden to be concerned about me. I like to think of him as an uncle or a grandpa. He was also smart when it came to reading people's moods. 

I looked up from my music, half-smiling, "Oh, I'm fine! I just had a dream that woke me up earlier than usual." While I spoke I placed my 'The Lord Bless You And Keep You' hymn behind my copy of 'Jubilate Deo'. I checked my schedule again to make sure everything had been placed in the right order. 

Hayden gave me an inquisitive glance. He was also arranging his music on the little podium where he directed from during our warm-ups. "That's funny, so did I..." 

My head cocked at his reply. _Him too?_ But before I could say more the door opened and our cantor, Arnie, walked in with his briefcase full of music. Arnie reminds me of my dad a lot, same kind of beard and glasses, except he's shorter and a bit bald on top. He was a tenor with a talent for telling jokes. Maybe I should rent Arnie out to King Kai on slow days, he'd keep the blue guy laughing for days. 

Arnie waved to me and started digging out his music. The door slammed again as more people started filing in. Tom, our organ player, was among them. Once Tom arrived, Hayden moved behind the little podium and asked for quiet so those where were present could start warming up.   
  


Mass had just let out. I said my usual goodbye to fellow choir-members, joked around with a few others and hefted my backpack over my shoulder. Mom waited patiently for me next to the second-row pew while I spoke briefly with Joanie and Anne about a part in the music where I'd sang a wrong note by mistake. It almost threw the whole section off, but they recovered. Thank God Joanie has a big voice and keeps the sopranos in tune! 

"Ready to go?" Came my mom's voice from behind me. I turned to her and nodded. 

"Yeah, I'm dying in this robe." My hands shifted the triangular collar around my neck. It kind of felt like wearing Piccolo's heavy shoulderpads. Maybe that's the reason he's such a grump! "What is up with this heat?" 

"High pressure system. It'll get cooler tonight and tomorrow." 

I twisted my mouth to the side. Hours of sweating lay ahead in my immediate future. Yay. "That's a relief. I'm gonna be so miserable this summer. Stupid house without air conditioning."   
  


Arriving home never felt so good. I hurried into the semi-cool house so I could shed my heavy robe and dump off the ten-ton backpack hanging on my shoulder. My mom went into the kitchen to fix my dad some egg sandwiches. I heard the familiar clink of the butter platter being slid across the countertop and pulled open. Then I caught the musty scent of eggs cooking. It reminded me that I was starving after eating nothing since breakfast at seven-fifteen...and it was noon. My stomach whined at me to feed it. Oh well, it could wait a few more minutes while I changed clothes and washed my makeup off. 

My bedroom door was hanging ajar. Well that's not unusual, my dad closes it when he plays cribbage so he won't wake mom up with his annoyed mutterings. I paid the door no mind as I entered my room. 

The door was shoved shut and a hand reached from behind to clamp over my mouth. A very green hand with pointed white nails. 

Piccolo's deep voice spoke above me in a deadly-serious tone. "Don't make a sound. Don't ask any questions. You're coming with me." 

"Mmf fmeh meef mo mnng!" I mumbled against his palm, trying to say that I needed to change first. 

"You can change clothes later." He hauled me right off my feet like I weighed nothing and flew with me through the mirror above my dresser. Being 'kidnapped' by Piccolo wasn't my idea of a relaxing Sunday afternoon, especially since I didn't have a frigging clue what the hell he wanted. It definitely wasn't a sex game. Damn. 

Piccolo let me drop onto my butt as soon as we landed in the Lookout kitchen. I jumped up and growled at him, "HEY! Do you MIND?! What is this all about, huh?! Kidnapping me out of my own damn house..." 

The Namek glared daggers at me, "This is important!" 

I made a face at him, growling, "oh sure...well I'm not listening to ANYTHING until I feed my face! I'm hungry and I can't concentrate on anything when I'm hungry!" 

"HUMPH! Your hunger is a weakness" Piccolo gave me a really dirty look. 

"Bite me! I have to eat if I want to be strong, Green Bean." I made a talk-to-the-hand gesture at him. Mr. Popo peeked his head into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. I could have kissed that ebony genie right then, because he was about to save my life! "Mr. Popo! Thank God! I need something to eat, like now! I'm starving." 

"Oh of course!" Mr. Popo's lips curved into a painted smile. He linked his beefy hands together and leaned forward, "What can Mr. Popo cook for you?" 

"Well, I don't need as much as Goku, that's for sure! Just a slightly burnt grilled cheese sandwich, a salad with avocado and tomato topped in Thousand Islands dressing and a glass of milk. Please?" I batted my mascara-leaden eyelashes sweetly. Normally I don't drink milk, but I always crave it when I eat a grilled-cheese sandwich. 

Mr. Popo brightened. "Coming right up!" 

Within ten minutes I was munching on the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich and salad I'd ever tasted. The rough, salty sandwhich, eaten crust-first, melted with the cheese in my mouth. The dressing gave my throat a comfortable, tangy aftertaste. I relished in the way the tomato slices exploded in my mouth between the velvety bits of avocado and crunchy lettuce. Yum, yum, YUMMY! I washed it all down with the milk and sighed. Mr. Popo then brought out my surprise dessert - a slice of chocolate cake! MY FAVORITE!!! "Oooh thank you!" I POUNCED on that bowl of cake and lost myself in the rich sweetness of chocolate liquifying on my tongue. Every bite was Heavenly. I finished up with a second glass of milk, then sat back. Contentedly full. Oh that was so much better than the little Swiss Cake Rolls I usually grab at noon every day. 

Piccolo waited impatiently while I ate. I could almost smell the relief on him when I didn't scarf up all the food in the fridge like the Saiyajins always did. 

"Boy am I glad you don't take so long to eat," Piccolo muttered, rolling his eternally dark eyes. He stepped away when I shoved my chair back to stand up. My nose came up to the middle of his chest...he was so friggin tall. "Are you ready to listen now?" 

A bit sleepy because I was completely stuffed, I nodded. Piccolo wordlessly turned from me and padded back out into the sunlight. I followed behind like a loyal little lamb. Sat down in the lotus position with him and fiddled with a fold of his baggy purple gi pants. Being full didn't make it any easier for me to concentrate on what he planned to say, but at least I wouldn't be thinking about food instead of his words. 

Piccolo started talking right away, "I've been seeing some disturbing images in my dreams and meditations. Even Dende has had a few frightening visions. When I sensed your nightmare I realized something strange was going on. I tried to get to you, but you weren't home and I couldn't risk entering your church and creating a stir." 

I jerked my head up, "My dad had a strange dream too! So did my choir director!" Then I looked down again and blushed, if Piccolo sensed my dream then he saw the good part too. How embarrassing! "I saw Void in my dream...she tried to choke me. I think the others might have seen her too and just didn't think of it as anything more than a scary nightmare." 

Nodding his turban-clad head, Piccolo closed his eyes. I saw a muscle in his jaw bulge a little as he silently chewed on the inside of his cheek. An invitation for me to ask him any questions I might have. 

"Then..." I stopped fidgeting with the fold of his gi pants. In the warm sunlight I could smell the leathery material of his shoes...he must have recently materialized them to replace the old ones. Not a bad smell, really. "...Why is she only showing up in dreams?" 

Piccolo's calm reply came without a thought. "Because she's trying to take over." 

I gasped, "She can't do that!" My heart upped its tempo double-time. Adrenalin caused an uneasy feeling to spread through the pit of my stomach, creating the same sickening dread I used to get whenever I got caught doing something I shouldn't. My throat was suddenly so dry that I barely kept my voice going. "I mean...dreams are what give people hope and inspiration! Our minds use dreams, you know, to work out problems or warn us of future events! They're the reason why the airplane was invented, most of our modern marvels exist, movies were made and...and...this place was created! Without them the whole world might as well go insane! It'll be chaos!" 

"That's why we can't let her win. If she does, dreams...even daydreams...will cease to exist and people may never sleep or wake up again." Piccolo's reply was as pacific as ever - with an edge of anger. "Without dreams, hope will cease to exist. And without hope, life might as well disappear too." 

This time I crossed my arms and tipped my chin forward, imitating Piccolo's posture. "How the hell are we s'pposed to fight Void if we can't even touch her? You can't beat up a dream, you know." 

Inhaling through his nose, Piccolo opened his eyes and fixed me in his intense gaze. Those eyes were deadly serious. "Well..." he started to smirk in that sexy way of his, "We'll just have to go after her. Your dreams are pretty intense, Cyndi. So are mine. If we dream together, well make Void shake in her boots. I'll have to train your mind a little before we make our move against her, but that shouldn't take long. Once I teach you how to control your dreams, you'll be all set." 

"Dreams are passive," I commented. 

"Not if you're aware that you're dreaming. That's what I'm going to teach you." 

I sighed some. More lessons...just great. Piccolo wasn't always a fun teacher to deal with...but then again any moment with him is a dream come true in itself. 

Quickly, I dug around in my fanny pack(didn't get a chance to put it down when Piccolo grabbed me earlier) for my DBZ palm pad and a pencil. I wrote a few things down in it for later. 

Piccolo lifted a sharply-defined brow ridge. He eyed me strangely. "What are you doing?" 

"Taking notes so I can write this all down later. The Believers need to follow what we're doing, don't they? I'm gonna write about what went down here and post it on my site and Fanfiction dot net. It'll help pass the time quicker for me." 

"Ahh..." He nodded and actually smiled a rare smile at me. I must have really pleased him. The sunlight gleamed through his eyes like I'd often see the light play off Master Roshi's shades whenever he gets an idea. Obviously I'd given him a good one. "Yes, the power of their dreams will definitely add into ours. Good thinking, kid." Then he became very serious. He placed a warm knuckle under my chin and raised my head, leveling his fierce eyes with mine, "It's going to be a serious fight, Cyndi. You can't half-ass your way through it. I'm going to need everything you've got until this is all over. Do you promise you'll give it your all?" 

I placed my small hands around his wrist. It was so laced in muscle that it took both of them to wrap completely around. "Do you really think I'd run away from a fight when a sexy bastard like yourself asked me for help?" Heat rushed through my cheeks. 

Piccolo's smile turned into a smirk that showed one fang. He shook his head, chuckled at me and gave my head a playful shove away. I wonder if he had the same warm, gooey feeling inside that I did. 

"Good. Now get back to your place and don't tell anyone about what you're doing. Just act like it's a usual day and come back when everyone else in your house is asleep. If you daydream and see Void...snap yourself out of it. She can't hurt you while you're awake." 

I frowned at him. "Are you sure about that?" 

Piccolo nodded slowly and heaved himself to his feet. I got up as well. He walked with me into the kitchen, "I'll see you later, kid." 

"Later, Piccolo," I waved to him and climbed into the rippling steel refridgerator door. Not more than sixty seconds had passed since I first disappeared. I knew this because the clock on my cable box displayed the same time it had shown when I left. Which was a good thing since my parents would notice if I disappeared for almost two hours. 

Sighing, I flipped on my computer and wandered into the bathroom to change. Washed off my makeup and used the special oil to remove the mascara. Then I returned to my room and sat down in front of my computer. Another sigh escaped me. I opened Netscape Composer and started typing. 

This was going to be a long day... 


	3. Part Two

Self-insertion warning. Mild language warning, though it's nothing worse than what you hear on TV. 

Oh yeah, for all you who want me to tell Piccolo he's sexy and stuff....hehehe, I did XD You'll have to read to see it though. *laughs*   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Two

  
  
  
  
  


Don't you just hate how time crawls whenever you want it to hurry up and go by? 

It drags. It hangs and lingers. It twists itself into smaller and smaller circles like a noose around your brain. Then you wish it'd hurry up and squeeze out your sanity and get it over with. 

That's how I felt right then. Oh the joys of being blessed with a disgustingly poetic mind! 

Hard as I tried I couldn't even lose myself in Role Playing after I finished writing down what happened a few hours previous. Yahoo was on the fritz again like the piece of crap it is. Chat sucked. Posts were getting eaten. Room lists disappeared. Friends got booted left and right. Argh, will those Yahoo morons EVER stop updating what doesn't need updating? 

Six o'clock rolled around after ten years. I surrendered my computer to dad and took my MacDonald's cheeseburger and fries into the other room to watch TV. Nothing was on. It made channel surfing between bites of burger all the more frustrating. I just wanted to hurry up and get back to Piccolo. Not being able to speak about my impatience made the feeling all the more unbearable. Would I go insane first, or would I get back to the Anime world before that? 

Luckily for the world, I retained my sanity. Dad went to bed and left me to my own devices. Perfect timing. 

I dumped the choir music from my backpack so I could pack my other essentials - my pills and bedtime medicines. My stuffed Wile E. Coyote. One change of clothes(light gray DBZ T-shirt and matching sweats). Three bottles of Arrowhead water. Deodorant, shampoo, a hairbrush and my electric razor. Some makeup, a bag of sanitary pads, a thick notebook and a box of mechanical pencils. My Discman with CDs in one of those CD carrier books. On a whim I added my Piccolo action figure, which I placed in a ziplock bag so I wouldn't lose the turban. Silly, really, since I'd be seeing the real deal soon enough, but it brings me good luck! By the time I stopped shoving different items into my bag, I really had to jam it down before zipping it shut. What I'd give for Capsule technology. Maybe I'll ask Bulma about it if I see her. 

Now all I had to do was wait until mom went to bed. 

Once again I was online when I shouldn't be, typing with fingers colored orange from my nervously eating half a jumbo bag of Nacho Cheesier Doritos. I don't worry about my weight when I binge on food, it takes a lot for me to gain weight. A massive amount of Doritos wouldn't do that. It did leave me with a touch of heartburn though. 

It's ironic...everyone is obsessed with weight_ loss_, but nobody ever mentions people who have the opposite problem. I'm not healthy either. I have no boobs. My arms are like sticks and my shoulderblades stick out. There is nothing between my skin and the tops of my hip bones. And people think that's beautiful?! 

Feh, the only thing I like about myself is my knee-length brown hair. At least that startles people into a second look, since the rest of me isn't much to look at. 

Cutie Pie, my black and white cat with the long fur, awoke from her spot on my bed. She yawned, stretched and jumped down. I watched her pad up to my door and stretch again, making her claws scrape the door like nails on a chalkboard. It made me cringe. 

"No!" I snapped. 

Cutie Pie jerked her head around, eyeing me innocently with her rust-colored eyes. She meowed once and cast another longing glance at the door. 

"Ugh...fine, I'll let you out. Hold on." I uncurled from my chair and opened the door so she could scramble out. The lights were all out in the living room. Shutting the door, I turned off my computer and put the TV on Cartoon Network so anyone that passed my room would think I fell asleep with the TV on. Then I hurried through all my bedtime rituals, took all my medicines and gathered up my backpack. 

Keeping the mirror above my dresser just wasn't safe anymore, not when I had a heavy bookbag throwing off my balance. I took it down, leaning it on the front of my dresser. If anybody got nosey later I'd just tell them I was trying to clean it. 

I shut off my bedroom light and took a deep breath. Wrapped my hand around the cold, marble-like Dragonball bauble dangling around my neck. In my dark room the fourteen stars glowed a dull red. Before me, the mirror scintillated as well. It was beautiful, the way it shimmered like the ocean's surface. I stretched out a finger and drew a circle in the watery portal. The mirror rewarded me with a filigree of spiral light and color. Wow, cool! 

_Okay, enough playing_ - I almost heard Piccolo say that in the back of my mind. Geez. I knew him a little _too_ well...then again I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Er...I get distracted way to easily, don't I? 

I shook my head and mussed up my hair a bit, not an easy task considering its length. Then I smoothed it down again. Sighed aloud. Rolled a few sparse strands of arm-hair between my thumb and forefinger until I could yank it painlessly out. I was stalling myself as much as possible. 

Wait, why was I stalling? I had dreams to save, dammit! And I certainly didn't do any good staring at my mirror and waiting for everything to save itself. 

I got up off my ass and plunged through the rippling portal. The blankness full of geometric shapes didn't phase me anymore, I powered swiftly across it. Something strange tugged the edges of my consciousness. I ignored it, unable to put my finger on it at the time. My small form exited the metal refrigerator door. 

"Oof!" A faceful of Piccolo's brick-wall chest greeted me. Hmmm, not a bad place to have my face, if I do say so myself! "Hi Piccolo!" I said, my voice muffled by the thick cloth that smelled mildly of sweat. 

Piccolo grunted a wordless response and stepped away from me, letting me notice for the first time that he wore the Anime realm necklace - like mine, but without stars. He didn't look or sound pleased to see me, "You're late. I was beginning to think you'd fallen asleep and forgot to come." 

My elation dissipated like a blown-out flame. I balked at his rude greeting. "Well _excuse me_ if my mom took her sweet time going to bed! You told me to come _after_ everyone in my house was asleep. I did what you told me! I mean...come on...argh!" I threw my hands up, sighing. My desire to glomp him evaporated. Smacking him in the mouth would have given me more pleasure right then. I even made a fist in preparation for the action, but stopped, punching Piccolo would only succeed in breaking every bone in my small hand. 

"Enough," The green man's whispery voice shushed me. His expression calmed and became more docile, though he still wore that perpetual frown. "I'm not interested in your excuses. Now if you're done whining, leave your bag here and follow me." Piccolo turned away with a swish of his white cape and left the kitchen. 

I dropped my bag carelessly behind me and followed him. All the excited energy in my body had vanished into the pit of my Doritos-stuffed stomach. Here I thought this was going to be fun. I'm a fool. 

Piccolo stopped and half-turned, fixing me in his intense gaze. I couldn't read his expression, it was neither a smile nor sneer, but chills still went down my spine. Those liquid black orbs were the epitome of apathy. 

"Look," he began in a quiet, but firm tone, "This isn't a game. It's not some adventure you're going on for the heck of it. We both have to be serious about this. I don't have time for childish behavior, so stop pouting. You know full well I don't play games, and neither should you. I could give a rat's ass about what you think of me right now, so quit the sympathy-begging routine and hurry up!" 

If there were any words I didn't need to hear right then, those were them. I gave Piccolo the finger when he turned back around and hurried to catch up with him. 

While we walked he casually added on, "Oh, and the next time you stick that finger up at me, I'll break it off." 

Grrrr! How did he do that?! 

"Ummm...what finger?" I asked, my mouth stretching into a smarmy grin. 

"You know exactly which one, Cyndi." Before I even knew what hit me, Piccolo turned and grabbed a handful of my shirt. His eyes flared like supernova blasts. He yanked me angrily up to eye level and snarled, his fangs gleaming, "For the last time, I will NOT tolerate baby games! Grow up or leave!" Then he flung me down hard on the stone floor and resumed his original path. 

Piccolo's sudden outburst left me pretty shaken up and mentally hurt. I'd forgotten that I wouldn't be treated any different than the other people he's trained in the past. I sat there in an unceremonious heap, the coldness of the unforgiving stone floor seeping into my butt. It worked its way up my spine and goosebumps layered my skin. Goosebumps on top of goosebumps. 

Tough love. I think I just learned its true meaning. 

At that moment I made it a point to do everything right out of spite. Hayden, the director of my church choir, once told me that Roger Wagner used to be a pain in the ass to work with, and that everyone would correct their mistakes just to shut him up. I could sympathize with him. 

_Just you wait, Piccolo. I'm gonna shove all your teachings back down your throat once I have them mastered!_ That'll shut his trap! Hmph! 

I pushed off the floor and bound after Piccolo before he could disappear into the shadows. This is the part where I sulk and whine like a little brat. _You're such a loser,_ I told myself privately,_ Now go make up to him or you'll just feel bad for the rest of this journey_. But why should I apologize first? Okay...so maybe I did start it by flipping him off like an immature high-schooler. 

"Hey, Piccolo?" I caught up with him at last and fell into step with him. "Sorry." 

"Forget about it," The sexy green man gave me a sidelong glance and grunted under his breath. He led me up a flight of flawless white steps and stopped before two gilded double doors. The image of a large circle containing a pyramid with an eye in the center was emblazoned in a relief between the doors. Strange hieroglyphics outlined the image. 

Before I could inquire about the foreign writing, Piccolo spoke a word in Namekian. The doors ground apart and disappeared on either side. All I saw beyond them was blackness. Empty space. Nothingness. 

Then my pupils enlarged and absorbed what little light existed. It came from a red circle on the floor not too far away. 

"Come." Piccolo said tersely. 

I obeyed without complaint or question. Slipped past him into the chilly darkness that might as well have been outer space. I felt rather than saw Piccolo step in behind me, and the doors rumbled shut. There was a weird smell in this place. I couldn't identify it until Piccolo extended a strong arm and blasted an area of the floor near my feet. Flames erupted from an unseen indentation. They whooshed forth to outline a small pathway, wove around the circle and came back around to light up the other side. From above, it looked like a keyhole shape made of fire. The smell I couldn't previously identify was oil. With the fire it didn't smell too pleasant anymore. 

Surprised by the sudden heat, I leapt back and landed squarely on Piccolo's toes. Not that my insignificant weight would hurt him - he could pick me up with his little toe if he really wanted to! I squinted questioningly up at his face, wondering. He looked down with reflections of the fire roaring fiercely through his dark eyes, his expression extremely serious. 

Piccolo wordlessly dipped his head and removed his necklace. He stuck his hand out towards me, and I took it as a cue to give him mine, so I slipped mine off and handed it to him. Until then I didn't notice both glowed an eerie orange. He took the two necklaces, walked into the glowing red circle and removed the miniature dragonballs from the ornamental gold dragon's paws. I watched curiously while Piccolo knelt down before a miniature stone dragon and fitted the two orange objects into its upturned claws. As soon as they were settled into place, the fiery orbs shone brightly like two stars. Piccolo glanced over at me as the small Eternal Dragon model sank gently into the floor. 

Was it me, or did the flames just shoot up into infinity? No, really! The fire literally stretched up into forever like a waterfall's antithesis. Despite this I felt surprisingly little heat. 

A crimson glow spread from the center of the circle Piccolo stood on. It reached its way towards the edges and stopped. Turns out the baubles were placed in the middle of a pattern identical to the one on the doors. My Namekian friend's features looked pretty demonic when lit with the red light from below and the flames all around, reminding me why people once called him the Demon King. 

I felt an electrical jolt rip down my body. Pain jarred every nerve from head to toe, it was like being smashed by a sledgehammer! I dropped onto my knees, choking on my own scream. "Wh-what's happening to me?" 

"Relax, it'll pass. The shock you felt was your body shifting to its correct form." Piccolo showed no concern for my pain or well-being. 

"Correct...?" I looked down at my hands. They were.....real?! I must have looked so out of place, flesh and blood in an entirely anime room. 

The Namek just nodded his head towards a spot on the floor in front of him. He'd already assumed the lotus position near the middle of the circle, his hands busy mixing some kind of powder into a metal vial. He put his thumb over the hole on top and shook it vigorously. "This is the place where Kami kept the necklaces until Void's threat became too great to ignore." 

"Oh." I joined Piccolo in the circle, my real contours contrasting with the anime ones around me, and sat down on the oddly warm ground in front of him. Though the fire was at least six feet behind me, I warily pulled my long hair over my shoulder and let it coil up in my lap. "What exactly _is_ this place?" 

"The Room of Dreaming. It's a dimension that intensifies your dreams and desires. I figured it would make your training easier in the beginning, until you learn control." Piccolo stopped shaking the tiny vial and lifted his thumb away from its top. Strange pinkish steam rose eerily from the opening. He handed it to me and stated simply, "Drink this. It'll help you relax." 

"What is it?" 

He glared, "Don't ask stupid questions! Just drink it and you'll see for yourself." 

Piccolo wouldn't give me anything harmful, I was sure. I took the surprisingly warm vial and sipped tentatively from it. It tasted like shoe-polish and vodka. I winced as it burned my throat and started handing it back to him. 

"Drink _all_ of it, Cyndi." 

"Can I at least have an olive or something?" I asked hopelessly, but when all I got was another sharp look, I hesitantly drank every last drop. The taste left my throat burning as much as the fire surrounding us. 

Within a few seconds, I started to feel heavy. Having been drunk before(one glass of wine does it to me every time), I was all-too-familiar with the buzzing in my head and the sleepy calmness coursing through my veins. My head felt swollen. Spots danced in front of my eyes. Everything happened and I saw it a second or two later, like a tape delay. Reality's hold on me weakened. I was most definitely relaxed! 

"I feeeeeel weeeeeeeeeeeeird..." 

"You should." Piccolo chuckled at me, almost teasingly. His voice 'echoed' like voices only did when I was almost asleep. "I just gave you a Namekian potion that'll make your mind more receptive to your dreams. Now just settle down and focus. We're going to meditate for awhile and see how well you handle this." 

"Okay," I droned, even my tongue felt weighted and sluggish. As I always do when I'm drunk, I started rambling, "Hey Piccolo? I love you! Hehehe! Did I ever tell you you're the most gorgeous, handsome and sexy Namek in the universe?" That line probably spoke for all of Piccolo's female fans. Looking back on it now I wouldn't change a word of it! "Really! You are! And you're so cuuuuuute! I just wanna kiss and cuddle you all over!" 

Piccolo's expression changed. He stared at me like I was insane, a brow-ridge raised. 

My intoxicated blabbering continued, "Ooh you are just so hot, Piccolo! What would you say if I told you I want to feel up your hot body and have wild, passionate sex with you right here on the floor?" I then went on to tell him _exactly_ what I would do to him. Unfortunately I don't remember the exact words. I do know that it was vulgar, lewd, nasty and very unladylike(according to Piccolo!) - even if I did remember I'd be too embarrassed to repeat it. 

This little description went on until... 

BONK! 

Piccolo faceplanted into my lap, wide-eyed and as mortified as I should have been at the time. He was very quick to get back up...a move that saved him from having his ears fondled. Come on, how many of you out there think Piccolo's ears look like great toys? 

"_**ENOUGH!**"_ Piccolo roared, blushing furiously from his forehead to his chin and sporting at least ten gigantic sweatdrops. His eyes were HUGE! "**_I SWEAR, YOU FEMALES ARE ALL HORMONE-CRAZED ANIMALS!!_**" He slowly and deliberately cleared his throat. Regained his briefly-lost composure. Took in a deep breath. Then, bristling, he growled, "C'mon, this is serious." 

It's always funny to make Piccolo act that way. Perfect blackmail material for later! 

"...riiiiiiiiight." My eyes became heavier. Whatever substance Piccolo gave me was taking its full effect. I closed my eyes and let my head fall chin-to-chest as reality slipped into the background.   
  


I fell. And fell. And FELL! I dropped endlessly, down into the depths of a blue swirl ending in blackness. A mad spiral of noise and chaos. Lightning flashed past and around me like spears intent on impaling my body. I heard my own heart pounding. My hair whipped around against my body, getting hopelessly tangled. Where was Piccolo? For that matter, where was I? I was all alone! 

"What's happening?!" 

"CONTROL!!" Piccolo's growling voice boomed across my consciousness, "You must get control or you'll just keep falling! This spiral is your own mind locked in fear. Control it!" 

The black void came ever-closer and I couldn't stop my descent towards it. I tried, I really did. All that effort and the tornado around me only intensified. A mysterious wind whipped over my body, turning me in confusing circles. I felt like I was being sucked right out of myself and into oblivion! 

Nothingness enveloped me. I still felt the falling sensation, but I couldn't see anything around me. Was I dying?! "I can't! Piccolo, help me! I can't! I can't breathe! Help me! PLEASE!" 

A streak of electricity jumped across my path and coagulated into Piccolo. He was in his Anime form. I wasn't, my flesh was as real as yours. The Namek floated less than two feet away from me with his arms crossed and his cape rippling. The shadows surrounded his emerald form. How I saw him in the dark is still beyond me. 

"This is just a dream, Cyndi. It's not real. Will yourself to stop falling. Put aside your fear and concentrate on ascending. C'mon, I know you can do this, kid. Focus." 

Piccolo's pep-talk did little to quell my fear. Nothing he said would convince me that I could control this...this insanity! I struggled desperately for control that I just couldn't attain. 

"I...I can't, Piccolo!" I flailed towards him, "Please make this stop! I can't do it! Get me out of here!" 

Piccolo wordlessly floated forward and placed a muscular arm around my waist. He pulled me tight against his chest, trapping my hair against my back. His skin felt warm and alive, just like mine. 

"Hold on." Piccolo whipped his cape around our bodies and rose like a rocket up into the swirl above us.   
  


"Wake up, Cyndi!" Piccolo was shaking my shoulders and talking loudly to me. It seemed like ages before I even had the strength to open my eyes. 

I groaned loudly, more dizzy than I'd ever been in my life. Not the spinning kind of dizzy, the headrush kind. Whoever used my skull for a hockey-puck was going to pay! "Uhhhh... What...just...happened?" 

"You had a hallucination," Piccolo sighed aloud, his deep voice reverberating through my head. He appeared angry with himself, the way he frowned and tightened his pointed jaw. "Looks like I overestimated the dosage and underestimated the effects it would have on you. You've lost weight since our first meeting two years ago." He gave a nearly imperceptible sigh, "Next time we do this, I'll give you half the dose and see what happens." 

"Um...no way, you're not getting me stoned on that shit again!" I made a weak attempt at getting up, but my legs buckled like rubber. I fell right back down again. I was so wasted that I couldn't even walk! 

My Namekian friend uncurled from the floor. He came closer and, putting one hand under my knees and the other behind my back, lifted me like a feather. "Up you go." I didn't register the lapse between him being far and then suddenly near. I just blinked and his face was right there. He smirked, shaking his head. "Don't worry, it'll wear off in a few hours. Just sleep it off." 

I didn't give much of a fight when I was picked up. I wrapped my arms around Piccolo's neck and laid my head on his padded shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't do so good." I sniffled a little, "I'll do better next time, I promise. I just...I don't know...wasn't expecting it to be so hard." 

"Relax. The first time is always rough." Piccolo's soft voice spoke right into my ear, so close that I felt his warm breath. "Like I said earlier, we'll try again later with a smaller dose. Less traumatic. Just make sure your thoughts are calm. You've got the habit of thinking too much." 

"Oh shut up." I mused. "It's better than thinking too little, like Vegeta." 

That got a chuckle out of him. 

"Wait..." Cracking one eye open, I peered at him, "What if Void attacks me in my dreams while I'm asleep? I mean...what if I can't wake up?" 

"Not on my watch, kid." Piccolo carried me through the heavy golden doors and down the corridor to the room where Trunks and Goten slept during the Buu Saga. The bed was extremely comfortable and bouncy. Piccolo let me fall onto the mattress, climbed on and sat facing me in the lotus position. If I reached over I'd be able to touch his legs. 

Even though that green bastard practically took me on an acid trip, I still felt safe with him standing(sitting?) guard over me while I rested. I even sat up and gave him a little smooch on the tip of his pointed nose, which made his cheeks flush purple and his nose wrinkle into sneer. How cute! "G'night, Piccolo...no sneaking off once I'm asleep." 

Piccolo hunched his shoulders, glowering down at me. He obviously wasn't in the mood to be talked to, "Feh...just shut up and go to sleep so I can think." 

I decided my best bet was to do what Piccolo said. Curling my arms around an imaginary Wile E. Coyote toy, I shut my eyes. I drifted in and out of consciousness for a while before sleep finally claimed me.   
  


Sunlight reflected brightly off the smooth stone walls. During the night Piccolo had moved off the bed and taken up a more comfortable spot across the room. He looked like a statue draped in white cloth to keep birds off, the way his features were so angular and the manner that his cape hung in folds around him. 

I swung my legs around, cringing in expectation of a freezing cold floor, and slipped off the soft mattress. The floor turned out to be warm like cement sitting in the sun on a nice spring day. My backpack was leaned against the bed. Piccolo must have retrieved it for me while I was asleep - I'd thank him for it later. He looked so peaceful in his meditation, almost smiling, and I didn't want to disturb him. 

Digging through the stuff in my bag, I retrieved my pill bottle and used a sip of bottled water to wash my morning dose down. I glanced Piccolo's way. The Namek hadn't moved. Good, I didn't need him getting grumpy at me for waking him up. I shifted more items around and yanked out my Discman, a CD already inside. I didn't remember which one. I guess I'll surprise myself. 

Okay, time for breakfast. I tip-toed over to Piccolo and left a bottled water next to his left knee. He never so much as twitched, I guess he was really deep in his thoughts. 

The sunlight was bright when I emerged outside. Should've brought my shades...oh well. I pressed the ON button on my CD player to get the music started and headed for the deserted kitchen. Hey, I'll just cook for myself! A fried egg can't be too hard, can it? 

I grabbed what I needed, the eggs from the fridge and a frying pan. Now I'm no whizz in the kitchen, but as long as it's simple I manage. My talent ends at grilled cheese sandwiches - however I make some darn good ones according to my dad. 

By the time I had the stove burning and the pan ready, I was oblivious to everything but my CD. I cracked two eggs over the hot pan, getting pieces of the shell all over everything. How _did_ my mom crack eggs open without getting pieces of the shell everywhere? Oh well, I could always clean it up after I ate. 

I started getting into the music while I shook the pan back and forth over the burner. Before I knew it I was moving my hips from side to side and singing into a fork along with Heart. "_These dreams go on when I close my eyes...every second of the night, I live another life..._" 

My egg was almost done cooking. I picked up the pan and flipped the egg up like I'd seen professionals do, and I caught it again! Yay for me! I was so hungry that I wished it would hurry up and cook...how do you tell when an egg is done again? I poked the white part with my fork and it seemed solid enough, so it must have been done. Worth the chance, considering I was pretty hungry by then. 

I was still singing when I stabbed the egg with my fork and shoved it onto a plate. That went well, I decided to start another. Two eggs are better than one. While egg number two cooked, I nibbled on its unfortunate brother. Yum, it melted in my mouth and slid warmly down my throat. 

Okay, time to be the Iron Chef again. I elevated the frying pan and whipped the egg straight up. Oops, not very straight that time! I took a few steps back to catch the flying egg and - SMACK - ran into another body standing behind me. A rock-hard frame that didn't move an inch. 

"YAAH!!!" I sprang a foot straight up. Yanked my earphones down around my neck and whirled around, blushing furiously from my forehead to my chin. 

Piccolo stood there, looking at me oddly. Maybe he didn't like my singing? 

Then... 

_SPLAT!_

The egg I'd flung up in the air landed squarely on his turban. He grimaced and blinked at me with one eye a little larger than the other. Then he sweatdropped and looked up as half-cooked egg-white ran down the sides of his green face. It looked more like...well my mind is pretty sick, so use your imagination. I watched a long string of white goo drip between his sharply-defined brow ridges and ooze down his nose. A large sweatdrop formed on his temple. 

Embarrassed as I was, the sight of Piccolo with an egg on his head and the look on his face was...oh my God...it was just too funny for words! I burst into hysterics right there on the spot. "Hi Piccolo......BWAAAA HA HA HA HA!!! Breakfast is on you! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" 

Piccolo quickly regained his composure, bared his ivory fangs and growled at me. He wiped the egg off his face the best he could. A hot yellow burst of ki removed the rest. "Thanks, but no thanks." The Namek didn't even snicker at his own misfortune. He went right to business, his voice gruff, "Hurry up and eat so we can go back to training. I saw Void in my meditation and she was a lot stronger than I first thought." 

Great, so much for my laughing fit. Piccolo's words stopped my giggling as easily as a slap. "What?!" I stabbed my egg's yolk and watched the yellow bleed all over the plate. "Piccolo...be honest. Did my coming here for the first time in years trigger her return?" 

Piccolo walked over next to me, turned around and leaned his weight back against the counter. He rested one foot against the cabinets and crossed his ridged arms. I saw him curl his lip at my food. "I doubt it. I don't know what caused her resurfacing yet. All I know is she's going after the Believers. Now that they know what's going on, she's causing them terrible nightmares. Nightmares so bad that some of them don't want to follow us anymore." His narrow nostrils flared, but his expression remained stoic, "We can't lose this one, Cyndi." 

I finished my egg and shoved the plate roughly aside. "Do we have a chance?" 

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Piccolo nodded. "As long as we train our minds to be stronger than her will, yeah. It will not be a pretty sight when we go after her. She'll mess with your head and twist your thoughts. If you're strong enough you'll see through her tricks. But if not...well let's just not think about it." 

"Then I guess we'll - " My voice choked off when I saw another form enter the kitchen area. 

Dende came limping into view with bruises all over his visible skin. He was all sweaty and haggard, his antennae drooped lower than normal. He looked like he'd been through Hell and back ten times in a row. As he came closer I could hear him panting for breath through a half-open mouth. 

"Void...sh-she came into my dream and attacked me...I couldn't fight back!" 

I shot Piccolo a glance, "You didn't tell me Void's dream attacks had physical effects!" 

"They didn't before," Piccolo growled deeply and hurried over to assist the smaller Namekian. He helped him to a kitchen chair and pushed him to sit down. "Dende, what did she do to you? Can you remember?" 

Dende shook his head slowly, drawing his brow into a small frown. On his softer, slightly rounded features, the expression didn't seem quite as natural as it did on Piccolo. He'd gone from a cute little kid to a shy, handsome young man, something I'd just noticed since I never paid too much attention to Dende before. "All I know is she was all around me." 

I felt pretty stupid just standing there without offering help. Shaking my head, I approached the table where the two Nameks had gathered and said, "This is getting out of hand. How are we supposed to train when Void gets stronger by the second?!" 

Dende's dark eyes went from Piccolo to me. "You're the one that helped defeat Void the first time, aren't you?" 

"Yeah. The name's Cyndi. Nice to meet you." I answered as quickly as politely possible. 

Dende, careworn from his nightmare, glanced at Piccolo again. Piccolo tightened his triangular jaw muscles, wrestling with his thoughts. "This training isn't something I can push on you like battle training. We need more time and I doubt the Hyperbolic Time Chamber would aid us. You still need to gain control of your own thoughts before moving beyond the Room of Dreaming. Void can't reach your mind in there because it exists on a different plane. So trying to train beyond there before you're ready is just inviting disaster." He turned to Dende, "From now until Void is defeated, I want you to sleep in the Room of Dreaming. We can't chance her attacking you again." 

Still visibly shaken, Dende nodded affirmatively. "Please, I'd like to be alone." 

Piccolo didn't hesitate once, like he was waiting for an excuse to leave the area. He disappeared through the kitchen door with a swish of his white cape. 

I cast a withering glance back at Dende and smiled a little, "Nice meeting you, Dende. We're gonna get Void, don't you worry." 

Dende's sad gaze bit into mine, "Nice meeting you, too." He managed a smile despite his ragged appearance, "I hope so." 

I didn't feel very energetic when I exited the kitchen and joined Piccolo outside. The tall Namek stood, staring at the horizon from the edge of the Lookout. I've rarely seen his face as grim as it was then, his lips pulled into a tight line and his brow ridges drawn low to shadow his onyx eyes. A cool breeze played through his cape and sent my hair swishing against my arms. 

This was no time for him to stand all alone. 

Unwarranted, I strolled up to Piccolo's side and, slipping my hand up under his billowing cape, started rubbing his broad back. He made a small hissing sound and stiffened slightly, but didn't object. When was the last time someone rubbed his back for him anyway? A funny picture of Piccolo purring in delight while I scratched him behind the ears came to mind. I giggled inwardly and leaned against his rock-hard frame. 

I felt stronger when I stood near him, he was my shield against the horrors of life. Sure there were people stronger than him, but to me, nobody compares to this big green guy. Anybody can be buff and kick ass, that doesn't make them the best. It takes a real warrior to know he or she isn't the strongest and still be cunning enough to win an otherwise losing battle. 

No offense, but I think Saiyajins are really just fighting machines. Their anger always clouds their judgment. I have yet to see Piccolo make a bad decision because someone pissed him off. 

Finally I couldn't take the silence anymore. I had to know what went through Piccolo's ever-brooding mind. "Hey, Piccolo? What're you thinking about?" 

Piccolo heaved a sigh through his pointed nose and reluctantly draped an arm around my neck, pulling me up against him. Almost a headlock, but considering our large height differences, I knew it was just his way of being affectionate. I swear I'll never get over how strong his arms are. "Just trying to figure out a way of squeezing your training into a shorter amount of time. I may just take you into the Time Chamber and do it the hard way." 

I swallowed. The acid trip in the Room of Dreaming was the EASY WAY?! 

"That means..." he went on, "...that we must learn to attune to each others' minds." 

"And how will we accomplish that?" 

"Deep meditation." Piccolo stated simply. He tightened his arm around my neck and crushed me against his side a bit. There was a smirk behind his voice the next time he spoke, "But first, I want to take you through one more session in the Room of Dreaming. This time I will initiate the dream and draw you in, it'll be the first step in tuning our minds together." 

"I didn't know you could dream at will, Piccolo!" I twisted my head around to look up at him...which was quite a long way. 

He glanced down at me and grinned, showing his fangs. When he spoke his voice vibrated against my cheekbone. "What? You think I just sit and think when I meditate? Hmph. My meditation is the equivalent of a catnap. It refreshes me. Haven't you noticed that I don't spend a lot of time actually sleeping?" 

Well that was certainly an interesting tidbit. "I figured you had to sleep at least a little." 

"Unless I'm sick, I only need to sleep once a week...maybe more if I'm preparing for a fight." Piccolo moved his gaze back to the horizon. His grin vanished just as swiftly and mysteriously as it appeared. He slid his arm away from my neck and gave my back a quick pat. "C'mon, let's get started." 


	4. Part Three

Self-insertion warning.   
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Three

  
  
  
  


Piccolo handed me the steaming vial he just finished shaking up. Just like he promised, it was half the amount I received last time. That didn't make it taste any better, though. I slammed it back like a shot of tequila and cringed as my throat burned. Within a few seconds, the heavy feeling laid itself pleasantly across my head and body. Not near as strong as before. 

"This stuff works fast," I commented sleepily. 

"It goes right to your bloodstream." Piccolo replied flatly, eyeing me closely. "Are you ready?" 

"I think so." 

"Then let's begin." He scooted closer on the stone floor and reached both hands out, "Take my hands, close your eyes and let yourself fall into the trance. Nice and slow." 

I placed my hands in Piccolo's and felt his long fingers close around mine, nearly swallowing them. This felt a lot safer than last time...hopefully I won't make an ass of myself the way I did before. 

My eyes closed on their own and I soon found myself sinking out of reality.   
  


Something nudged against my subconscious, gently pulling me into dim awareness. It was a sound. A constant, gurgling roar. Then came an image. A waterfall. A _big_ water fall comparable with Niagra falls. The river it spilled into flowed right past me and cascaded beyond my sight. There was nothing else, just the waterfall and outer space all around. Very peaceful. 

So this is what Piccolo dreams about. 

By the way, where was that Namek? "Uh...Piccolo? Are you here?" 

"Of course I'm here. This is my dream, remember?" 

I startled and spun to face the voice. "Ack! Piccolo, you scared me!" When I jumped, the landscape flickered like a flame about to go out. "Hey...what just...you know...happened?" 

Piccolo came closer and crossed his arms. He was just as real as I was, and I mean real as in he wasn't Anime. I'll never get over how amazing he looks in the flesh. "Every time you have a lapse in concentration, the dream will weaken. You're lucky I'm holding you here or you'd wind up in your own little chaotic nightmare again. This is where you need the most training...now focus and you'll see more." He walked forward until we stood just a foot apart and I had to incline my head to see his handsome face, "The way you are now, Void would rip you to shreds. We have a lot of work to do, so let's get started." 

I tightened my fists, determined to do this right. "All right, what do you want me to do?" 

"Feh, you ask too many questions. Just pay attention." Piccolo touched his palms together and brought them apart. Between them stood a little white ball of ki. "Hold your hands just like this - good. Now don't let the light go out." 

Stretching out my hands, I tightened my lips and stared at the little spark Piccolo just placed between my palms. I concentrated like its light was the only thing in the universe. But the stupid thing still flickered out almost as soon as he took his hands away. 

Instant frustration. 

"Grr...dammit!" 

Piccolo frowned down at me, slightly irritated. He curled his lip a bit, "You weren't concentrating hard enough." 

"Yes I was!" My voice bordered on whining. 

"I get the feeling that you have no clue about how to do this." The Namek smirked mockingly at me, his liquid black eyes burning into mine. "If you want the energy to stay lit, you have to relax and will it to keep glowing. In a dream, it's all about whose willpower is stronger, not how powerful a fighter they are. Now I see what really needs work here." 

"Hmph!" I imitated one of his indignant snorts. "Tell me, Piccolo, just how do we train my willpower?" 

Piccolo curled half his mouth into a sexy smirk, "It's really quite simple, Cyndi. From now until we've beaten Void...you're not eating any chocolate. I know you think you can't live without it now, but just you wait. The more you resist your temptation, the stronger your willpower will become. And don't let me catch you cheating either. You won't like the consequences." 

I felt my jaw drop as I stared aghast at him. No sweet, gooey, rich chocolate for....for however long this will take? I rolled my tongue at the sudden craving my thinking about it brought on. "That...that's not fair! I need my chocolate!" 

"It's just junk that tastes good. You can survive without it for awhile." Piccolo turned away and lowered his head, "Now concentrate so you can see everything. There isn't just a waterfall, you know." 

"Uh...what exactly am I concentrating on?" 

The green man sighed visibly and growled, "The environment, Cyndi, the environment! Do I need to spell it out for you?!" 

Yikes. I guess he was dealing with Namek PMS or something. I've never seen him act this agitated around me. I decided my best bet was to shut up and focus, so I did. I let my eyesight blur, staring blankly ahead at nothing in particular. _Now what the hell am I supposed to see here?_

Gradually the blankness around the waterfall filled in. I saw trees, grass and a bright blue sky. Birds twittered from their branches and fish swam lazily in the water. A few pale clouds drifted across the sky above my head. The yellow-gold sun glowed, warm and inviting. The more I concentrated, the more I saw, until finally I stood on a landscape as real as the words in front of you now. I found it to be quite...eerie. There was a strange tension in the air that I couldn't quite put my finger on. 

"That's a little better," Piccolo said, turning around and lowering himself to sit Indian-style. "Now hold onto it." 

All at once the image before me seemed harder to focus on. I tensed my body and struggled for control. Beside me, Piccolo watched intently, I sensed his large eyes burning twin holes in my skull. It drove me nuts because here I was trying to concentrate on keeping this landscape visible and I had a drop-dead sexy Namek with a chip on his shoulder staring at me! 

I couldn't take it anymore. My head was starting to pound and Mr. Attitude over there wouldn't stop staring. Details in the vivid landscape around me began to fade, though I didn't notice until the sky vanished from my sight. 

"Okay, I'm done. This is giving me a headache!" 

Piccolo stood up again and crossed his arms, "Don't be a sissy. A little pain won't kill you." 

"Stop being so mean!" 

"Stop complaining!" 

"Bite me!" 

"Fine." Piccolo walked over, grabbed my arm and bit me. Hard. His fangs sank into my forearm and drew thin trails of blood that dripped into the grass under our feet. I felt a burning sensation as his teeth burrowed through muscle...I really thought he was going to bite my arm right off! 

"Hey...HEY HEY!!! OW!!!!" I stared at him in shock and pain, "OW! STOP IT!! I didn't mean that literally you asshole!!" 

"You can still use that arm." Piccolo licked the blood, my blood, from his fangs and spat on the ground. "So you've got a headache. Big deal. It's just like your arm...it hurts but it's still useful. So USE it!" 

I'd had enough. My arm was oozing blood and my elbow throbbed. It pissed me off. 

Like I always do when I get mad, I lashed out. I hauled off and kicked Piccolo right in the crotch as hard as I could. Piccolo crumpled instantly to the ground, clutching himself. A wounded noise escaped his throat. 

"Now try to piss with that and you'll see it hurts so bad you don't want to!" I regretted what I'd done, but I held my ground. Piccolo shot me an agonized glare, however I was already running away by the time he lifted his head again. No idea where I was going, I just needed to get away. I ran while clutching my injured forearm. Oddly it didn't hurt as much as when it initially happened except for a dull ache in my elbow. 

_That's the man you love and you just HURT him, you stupid baka girl! Of all the childish, stupid, selfish, moronic things you've done, this is the dumbest!_ I wrestled with myself through a blur of tears and sweat as I gasped for breath,_ That probably hurt his feelings too. Outside he might look cold and indifferent, but inside you KNOW a lot goes on!_

My legs stopped pumping. I halted and looked back at Piccolo a hundred yards or so away. He was on his side in fetal position with both hands clutching his wounded area. The dream around us had faded completely. Good God, how unfair could I be?! Piccolo wasn't used to having that weak spot and I just exploited it. Only sissy fighters attack like that! 

Whatever he planned to do as revenge would be well-deserved for my childish behavior. I felt so...so stupid! 

Piccolo's form drew closer as I returned to his side. I knelt down beside him and touched his arm. "Piccolo, I'm sorry...that wasn't fair. I guess I shouldn't blame you if you hate my guts now and want to go find someone else to do this." 

The wounded Namek didn't speak to me. Unless of course the growl he emitted counted as a response. Damn, I didn't realize I could kick that hard! What if I seriously hurt something in his body? 

"Piccolo..." I tried again, "...are you okay?" 

Piccolo groaned and straightened, climbing to his full height. I watched him reach into his pants and adjust himself(or maybe he was 'checking', hard for me to tell). The pain seemed to lessen on his features. Then, finally, he spoke back to me, "I'll live. What I'd like to know is how the heck you humans get along with such exposed...parts." 

I blushed, "Well um...most men wear a jock strap or just kick a leg up to block an attack there." 

"Hmph." 

I sighed, hanging my head. I'm a hugger and when someone else gets hurt I usually hug them to make it all better. Piccolo was not exempt from my embrace. I walked forward and wrapped my arms around his narrow waist. It left my cheek pressed to his chest, giving him no choice but to awkwardly hug me back. I realized a little too late that my arm was bleeding all over the side of his gi. Er...I hope he didn't mind too much. 

"Piccolo, really, I'm sorry...that was dumb of me. I just..." 

"You talk too much, Cyndi. I heard your apology the first time, all right?" Piccolo cupped the back of my head with his large hand. His voice rumbled through his chest, "I'd forgotten you had a temper, kid. Heh, thanks for reminding me I'm still alive." 

"Huh?" 

"...nothin'. C'mon, let's get out of here. We need to use the Time Chamber and work on tuning our minds together." 

The hug felt too nice to break, I didn't the warmth of his arms to leave me too soon. I kept hanging onto him and looking the long way up towards his face, "Before we go, I need to go see Bulma. I have too much stuff in my backpack...I need to Capsule it. I also need to get...ahem...girl supplies so we don't have to make new clothes for me every day. And I need to have my medicine replicated so it'll last a year..." 

"Women..." Piccolo rolled his eternally dark eyes at me and slipped his hands down my arms, lacing our fingers together. "Then sit down and I'll wake us both up." 

"Right." I missed his warmth after it retreated from my arms.   
  


Before I could go anywhere, I needed food. I was so horrendously hungry that it wasn't even funny. Not unusual for me, I gorge regularly during the week...just not like I did right then. My stomach didn't seem full no matter how much I ate! What was wrong with me?! 

Poor Mr. Popo, I just knew he had better things to do than wash all my dishes. 

I was glad the bite wound didn't come with me when Piccolo and I left the Room of Dreaming. If it had I wouldn't have been able to shove food into my mouth a mile a minute. 

Like I was now. 

Piccolo kept giving me odd looks while I shoveled food down my throat. We were both Anime again, which made reading his expressions more difficult, so I wasn't sure what kind of mood he was in. I forced myself to stop after my second ham sandwich and third bowl of chicken salad. 

"What are you staring at? I was just _really_ hungry! Don't you ever...oh yeah, you don't eat. Duh." 

He tilted his head slightly, "Cyndi...your hair." 

My hair? Did I have dandruff? Lice? Was I developing a gray one somewhere? "Yeah? I have hair, you know, and it's long and brown and I need to brush it. Is that it?" 

Piccolo opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and frowned. He shook his turban-clad head and looked away, "Nevermind." 

"Ugh...Nameks! So hard to please!" I grinned wolfishly, excusing myself from the table. "I'm gonna go straighten myself up a bit and then we'll go, okay? Um....is there a bathroom I can use?" 

"I can show you to it," Dende's voice cut in over our conversation. For the billionth time, I was startled and spun around to face the smaller green form. He wore Kami's outfit - the blue cape and white floor-length tunic with a red symbol on the front. In his left hand he held Kami's wooden staff. The difference between the warmth in Dende's eyes and the apathy in Piccolo's was like night and day, and their eyes were both the exact same color! Here I thought it was just Piccolo's eye-color that made his gaze seem cold. 

"Oh! Yikes, I am too jumpy these days." My smile was a tad mirthless, probably from being tired. "Lead the way, I'm right behind you." 

Dende nodded, turning from the kitchen door. I raced to catch up with him and walked at his side. Darn it, even though he was small, he still stood at least three inches taller than I! Gah! I'm always the shortest, even Freeza had two inches over me and he's short! 

"Piccolo told me a lot about your world and the fight with Void. If the tales he told were all true, then this Void creature is much stronger than last time." 

I gasped and felt my heart skip a beat. "You've gotta be kidding me! I mean, we barely beat her the first time! She ALMOST destroyed everything! I mean...you know...if it wasn't for the Believers, nothing would exist." More autistic babble from me, I tend to repeat words when I don't know what exactly I want to say. It makes me sound stupid, doesn't it? 

Dende turned his head to indicate the bedroom I slept in. Figuring we were turning, I went in with him right behind me. He spoke as we walked past the bed, "I've been watching the dreams of people on Earth and...it's just horrible what she does! She takes perfectly nice dreams and twists them into horrible nightmares. Children won't go to sleep at night and people are causing wrecks because they're driving tired. She's causing chaos everywhere..." 

"Piccolo and I are gonna try and beat the sh - " I stopped myself...I'm talking to a respected being here, I should at least talk decently, "...gonna try and beat her senseless. We'll show her our dreams are ours and ours alone." 

"I hope so." The Namek tightened his lips and gazed across the room. He looked tired too, like he'd spent the entire day pacing to collect his thoughts. "The bathroom is behind that door by the bed. Push hard, Mr. Popo's last paint job kind of sealed it." 

"Thanks. Hey, go get some sleep in the Room of Dreaming like Piccolo said. You can't keep a sharp eye out on the world if you're tired and scared all at once." 

That got a smile out of Dende, albeit a small one. "You take care of yourself, tell Bulma I said 'hi'." 

I gave him a peace sign and smiled, "No problem!" 

He nodded, excused himself and left me to my own devices. I yanked the hairbrush and some makeup from my backpack, hoping the bathroom door wouldn't be too challenging for me. It was...I shoved all seventy-seven pounds of my body against the door twice before it relented. The sink stopped me from falling. 

I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror above the sink. Wow, my hair _was_ a mess! I went to work brushing it immediately. Frizz central. I wet the brush under the sink and continued running it through my locks. Darn it, my hair just wouldn't lay down! Even my bangs were sticking out in weird directions. 

"Oh, for God's sake! Lay down!" I commanded my hair like an idiot. Then I gave up. The tangles were gone, that's all I cared about. I applied my usual makeup - smoky eyes, blush and pink lipstick. This time I used gray eyeshadow, since my shirt was gray. With my face made up I had eyelashes like Videl and lips like Bulma. I smiled, feeling as if I finally looked like one of the gang. 

Piccolo stood waiting for me by the bed when I exited the bathroom. He was closely examining the action figure I brought with me for luck. In the Anime world it really looked like a tiny version of him. How adorable! 

"Ah, I see you found...you." I giggled. 

Piccolo shot me a glance and experimentally moved one of the figurine's arms. His mouth curled into a sideways grin, "Not bad craftsmanship. But they forgot my claws." He grinned evilly and wiggled his fingers, showing off his pointed white nails. Funny, I never really paid attention to them until then. Geez, everything about Piccolo is pointy! 

Just one of many features that make him so damn sexy. 

I wished I had a camera to capture his candid mock-evil moment. "Well these are toys for children and they'd be a hazard if they all had pointed nails that could injure someone. They also plastered your antennae to your head...heheh...but the turban wouldn't go on otherwise. I think it's a pretty good likeness of you." 

"I guess." He handed the figure to me and I placed it back into the plastic bag. 

Smirking, I lowered the little Piccolo toy into my pack, laid my makeup kit on top and zipped everything shut. "I think I'll just take my pack with me. Maybe Bulma can capsule the whole thing so I can just whip it out whenever and dig for my stuff." 

Piccolo shrugged, "Whatever. C'mon, let's get this over with. I'll drop you off and wait while you and Bulma do that shopping thing. Hmph, maybe Vegeta will provide me with some entertainment while you're gone." 

"Sure," I hefted my bag onto my back, walked over to Piccolo and let him lift me up in his arms. The weight of my backpack didn't even phase him. 

The strong Namek carried me outside to the edge of the Lookout. Here was the part I hated...looking down! I shut my eyes tight and buried my face in Piccolo's neck. I felt safe in his arms, true, but the extreme height made me dizzy. It was just easier if I kept my eyes closed until we were closer to the ground. 

"Here we go," I heard Piccolo mutter. 

Muscles shifted against my side and arms as Piccolo's body defied gravity and shifted towards a horizontal orientation. At least he was taking us down easy...I don't think my stomach would've kept up if he went for a straight dive.   
  


"Capsule this backpack? That's easy!" Bulma lifted the heavy backpack from where I dropped it on the floor. Boy, Goku was right when he said she looked middle-aged! She could be MY mom now! But I won't tell _her_ that. "Oof! What do you KEEP in this thing?!" 

"Rocks, of course," I joked. Then I leaned forward and shielded my mouth with a hand so only she could hear me, "I also need you to Capsule a year's supply of....ahem...pads. Piccolo and I kind of forgot that last time and it was disgusting. I mean...well I don't know if you need them anymore..." Oh God, that was a bad line on my part and I realized my mistake a bit too late. 

A fist smashed against the back of my head. I hit the floor with a giant lump rising off my skull and spirals for eyes. Bulma loomed over me with sharp teeth and huge eyes, "I'm nowhere NEAR menopause yet, you little brat! How dare you! Argh! Just sit here and I'll get my keys so we can shop for what you need." 

"Oy....Sorry! Geez! I'm a poor judge of age!" I sat up and rubbed my head 'till the bump went away. Good thing Piccolo and Vegeta were keeping each other busy, I didn't need that Saiyajin breathing down my neck. He and I never did get along very well. 

Unfortunately, I forgot about Trunks. He stood in the kitchen doorway with a can of soda in his hand, looking pretty embarrassed at his mother's behavior. I'll admit he is kinda cute. I just don't have a _thing_ for him like I do Piccolo. 

"Uh...she's been like this since Goku left with Uub. I guess I don't blame her." Trunks sipped from his drink and leaned on the doorframe. "Even dad was pretty upset. He doesn't spar with me as much as he used to and doesn't let me into the gravity room while he's using it." 

"Well that's Vegeta for you. He's turning into such a grumpy old man. Even if he doesn't look a day older than he did when he fought Buu." 

Trunks' eyes bulged. He coughed on his soft drink. I thought he was laughing at my comment until a rough male voice spoke behind me, "So now I'm a grumpy old man?" 

My eyeballs shrank to pinpoints. I grimaced and felt the blood drain out of my face. Dammit...me and my BIG MOUTH! "Er....Hi Vegeta! I didn't mean it like you think! Really!" 

"I think you did." Vegeta walked around in front of me, arms crossed in that proud arrogance of his. He eyeballed me with a mocking smile that I wanted to slap right back off. "You should talk, twig girl." 

Ooh! I really HATED it when Vegeta made fun of me like that! My blood boiled as I got nose to nose with him and growled in his face, "Stop calling me 'twig girl', you hairy monkey's ass!" 

Vegeta cocked a thick brow. "Okay....twig girl." 

"Grr!" 

SMACK! 

"OWWWW!!!" 

Vegeta stood there in hysterics while I clutched my bruised hand and swore under my breath. He didn't even feel it when I slapped him across the face! Not even a mark! 

And where the Hell was Piccolo while all this went on? 

I looked at Vegeta again, sneering. Wait a minute here...there _was_ a mark on him. From my nails. Not more than a cat scratch to him. But still, how did I manage to damage him at all when he was a thousand times stronger than I? This didn't make sense! 

I had no time to think. Bulma returned before Vegeta and I could lock horns again. She heaved my backpack into a plain white box with a yellow switch on the side. When she pressed the switch, the box poofed into a capsule no larger than my palm. 

Cool! 

"Okay you two, break it up!" She waved me over and twirled her keys on her fingertips, "Cyndi and I have to go pick up a few things. Trunks, do your homework. Vegeta, watch Bra for me while I'm gone. Don't eat everything in the fridge either, got it?!" 

Then we were off. 

"Grrr! Just how DO you live with Vegeta?" I asked once Bulma and I were well on our way. Hover-cars proved to be a much smoother ride than cars with wheels. A feeling one must get used to, too. I actually got a little nauseous and I never get car sick! 

"Well...feed him, keep his clothes clean and give him room to train and he's happy. He's kind of like a pet. Cute in some ways, but a pain in the tush when he gets mad. He's surprisingly easy to please if you give him what he wants when he wants it." Bulma kept her eyes on the road, her grip on the wheel tight. Traffic was pretty bad. I realized Dende must be seeing this same chaos in his visions. 

I averted my eyes from the road. Rolled the capsule containing my backpack around in my pocket. Wiggled around in the seat. For some reason I felt uncomfortable sitting there. "Maybe...you know...when we go buy my 'girl stuff', we should get a little from different stores so the cashier doesn't get weird ideas." 

The car halted at a red light. Bulma laughed. "You can buy capsule packs of a hundred! How many do you use?" 

"Depends on how heavy. It can be anywhere from three or four to half a pack on the worst day." 

She shrugged, not at all irked by it like my parents get when I talk about my period around them. "Then get three capsules. They'll last ya and leave you with some extra." 

"Cool." I gripped the door handle as the car went back into motion. A marquee billboard above the highway scrolled the date, time and temperature in large red letters. I read it, blinked and looked again. 

It said: May 9, 12:54 p.m., 77 degrees. 

"Hmm...I might need to pick up something extra. I'll have to look around until I see it though, since I dunno what it is I'm gonna buy." 

"No problem. How about I grab the Capsules you need and you look for whatever it is you're looking for. We can meet by the entrance again in...oh..." She turned her wrist over and checked her watch, "half an hour?" 

"That'll work fine." I smiled, leaning back. The car pulled into the parking lot. We got out and I followed Bulma into the mall. 

"Okay, I'll see you in thirty." 

"Yup." 

Bulma and I walked off in opposite directions. All around me was a multitude of people in different shapes, sizes and colors. Hair in every hue on the rainbow and then some. There were even animal people walking by, I nearly bumped into an anthro bulldog while staring at the signs above store windows. 

The anthro mumbled, "'scuse me." as he brushed by. 

I paid little mind. Before I had even entered a store, the small object I didn't know I was searching for until then shone right in front of my face. I knew that was it. 

The shopkeeper happily took it down for me when I flashed some cash. He even placed it in a nice silver gift bag for me. I paid him and hurried off in search of a decent card, barely able to contain my excitement.   
  


Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Bra and Piccolo all gawked at me as I finished my snack in record time. Snack indeed. Two bowls of pasta and half a pot-roast. Not nearly as much as Vegeta and Trunks ate. But for me it was a lot. I still didn't feel quite full...but I wasn't in the mood for an overstuffed stomach either. I also made sure I didn't puff my cheeks out with the pasta and slurp it like Goku. Poor Piccolo, watching people eat spaghetti still makes him squirm. 

"Uhhh...sorry guys. I guess my training with Piccolo gives me a bigger appetite." Speaking of Piccolo, I stood up and walked over to him, "Hey, Piccolo, can we talk alone outside for a minute?" 

Piccolo gave me an inquisitive look through his perpetual frown. Without a word he stood up and slipped out the side door to wait for me. I raced for the living room, excitedly grabbing the little gift bag and card as I went. Kept it concealed behind my back when I joined my Namekian friend outside. My heart started pounding in anticipation, and just because it was Piccolo - he always makes my pulse race. He stood there, arms crossed and feet planted, the wind playing through his cape. 

Piccolo turned and lowered his muscular arms to his sides when I emerged outside. "So what is it you want to speak about?" 

"Well," I scuffed my foot on the grass, "While Bulma and I were pulling into the mall, I...you know...noticed the date on a billboard and well..." I produced the silver gift-bag and card and handed them to him, "Happy birthday, Piccolo." 

Piccolo stared at the objects I placed in his hands. He looked a bit shocked at first. Then his expression softened a little. He sat down in the lotus position and opened the card, which had a simple Happy Birthday message inside. Then he lifted tissue paper from the gift bag and pulled out his birthday present. When I saw it hanging from his fingertips, I knew it was perfect for him. 

It had white thread woven like a web in the center with green around the outside edge. Four rows of purple feathers and blue beads dangled from the bottom. A shiny black arrowhead was bound to the thread in the center. 

He turned his gaze on me, his eyes questioning. 

"It's a dream catcher, Piccolo. Indians...I think it was Indians...believed these neat little things warded off bad dreams if you hang it up near where you sleep. My mom has one in her room, but it's blue and white. I got this one since it matched...well...you." I put my elbows down on his knee and smiled, "I thought that maybe, when this is all over, you could keep it to remind you of what we're trying to save." 

Piccolo lowered the dream catcher back into the gift bag for safekeeping. All the usual hardness was gone from his face. The stern frown, the sneer...even his onyx eyes lacked their menacing glare and looked a little misty. Whatever walls he kept up behind them were temporarily down, allowing his true emotions a brief moment in the light. The powerful spirit I saw shining through was so beautiful and perfect. He touched my face with his fingertips and flashed a lopsided smile, "That was...very kind of you, Cyndi. Thanks. What possessed you to recognize my birthday, anyway? Nobody ever has before..." 

"Because I love you, duh." I felt my heart swell happily. "Not too sentimental, I hope?" 

Another sexy smirk. "Nah." 

"Good." I pushed my face up to his and kissed him smack on those soft, moist lips. Piccolo was so surprised by the sudden kiss that he tumbled backwards with me landing on top of him. His cheeks instantly gained a purplish hue. I just giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck for a birthday hug. Then I sat up triumphantly on his stomach and looked down at his blushing visage. "See what happens when you let your guard down, birthday boy?" 

The Namek under me grunted. "Thanks for reminding me...I think." 

I put my palms down against his sides. "You know what...there's something I've always wondered about you..." This had to be timed perfectly. I arched my fingers, "Are you ticklish?" 

"I -" 

As if I'd let him answer that! Mwa ha ha! My fingers instantly went to work and fluttered against his ribcage. 

Piccolo's face tightened and flushed. He looked ready to kill me. Then he let out a gigantic snort and grabbed my wrists. Trying to keep his voice from trembling with laughter, he said, "I am _not_ ticklish." 

"Oh yeah?" 

I pulled a hand free and dug my fingers against his ribs. Piccolo pursed his lips. Squeezed his eyes shut. Turned another shade of purple. I saw a smile breaking the corners of his mouth. He shook all over. A huge, fangy grin split his flushed face from ear to ear. I felt him tense under me as the laughter finally found its way out - he kept it to a quiet rumble, but he was really cracking up. There were even laugh-tears in the corners of his eyes! I saw it all! 

Okay, he'd had enough. I stopped tickling the hapless Namek and climbed off his stomach. "Liar." 

Piccolo, still blushing, picked himself up and tucked the gift I gave him into his blue belt. Next thing I knew, I was pinned to a tree by his weight. It hurt for a second, but I didn't have time to locate the pain. Piccolo's fingers dug lightly against my ribs, moving so fast they were everywhere at once. I yelped and squirmed, laughing uncontrollably. 

"ACK! Hey - AHAHAHA!!! AHHH! AHAHA - help! AHAHA!" 

Above me, his deep voice snickered mockingly, "See what happens when you let your guard down?" Then he backed off and let me go. 

I rubbed the back of my head and grinned, red-faced. "Uh, yeah! Thanks for reminding me! You know..." My mind went right into the gutter after that. I leaned closer and whispered seductively, "...you can put your hands on me whenever you want to." 

Piccolo just shook his head at me, smiling. "You _never_ change, do you?" 

"Nope." I reached back and grabbed a handful of his tight rear end. The term 'buns of steel' definitely applies to Piccolo, his butt is _very_ firm. "I've got it bad for you, you big sexy green hunk!" I giggled some more. "Did I mention you taste good?" 

He balked at me. I grinned. 

"Hey, how old are you anyway? I forgot to check my notes and I think the Believers would want to know." 

"Thirty-two." Piccolo replied promptly, "In human years, anyway. In Namekian years, I'm twice that." 

I did the math by drawing invisible numbers on my palm and multiplying them by two. "Sixty-four...you're an old fart!" 

"Feh. Thanks a lot, kid." 

"Piccolo I'm just kidding. You don't even look your age, so don't worry." I smiled sweetly at him, "By the way, you're welcome." 

Argh. My back wouldn't stop itching. I realized that I stupidly forgot to let my hair out after I'd stuffed it under my shirt for my flight with Piccolo. How idiotic I must've looked, walking through the mall with my hair tucked down my shirt. 

I pulled my hair free and untucked my shirt to scratch my itchy back while I headed towards the building. As soon as I was inside, everyone stopped in mid-conversation and stared oddly at me. I mean, it looked like everybody just saw a ghost. Even Vegeta lowered a forkful of pot roast from his mouth to gawk. Piccolo came in, stopped and made a that weird guttural noise he always makes when he sees something completely weird. 

I quit scratching myself and gazed around at all the odd expressions. This was very irritating. 

"....okay, WHAT are you all staring at?!" 

Vegeta's pot roast fell off the fork, which he dropped rudely on his plate. He shoved his chair back and walked over behind me. Blatantly staring at my butt. 

"Argh! Just what the hell is so interesting!?" I looked over my shoulder to glare at Vegeta, but my eyes didn't fix on him. Instead I stared at the fuzzy brown object wiggling an inch from my nose. 

A tail. 

A _Saiyajin_ tail. 

And it was attached to me. 


	5. Part Four

Self-insertion, violence(minor gore) and nudity warning. The song you'll see is Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson.   
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Four

  
  
  


A Saiyajin tail. 

I must have gawked at it wiggling near my face for an eternity. Apparently Piccolo wasn't the only to experience "side effects" from traveling between realities so many times. So _that_ was the weird feeling tugging at my consciousness when I came back into the Anime world! My body had been slowly changing ever since I've been here and I didn't even notice! How stupid can I get? 

The weird thing is...I felt like I'd always had a tail and nothing about its presence seemed un-natural. 

But my logical mind knew otherwise, as Mr. Spock would say. 

I freaked out. 

I mean, I _freaked out._

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" I took off running for the bathroom, pushing everyone out of my way and screaming like a mad woman, "OH MY GOD, I HAVE A TAIL! GET IT OFF!! _GET IT OFF!! **GET IT OFF!!!**_ I DON'T WANNA BE A MONKEY!!" 

And then I slammed the door on it by accident. Big mistake. 

The pain struck with paralyzing force. Agony rippled up my spine and throughout my body, driving me to my knees. Waves of nausea turned my stomach over. I broke out in a cold sweat, mostly on my face and in my armpits. The walls closed around me. Blackness soon joined them.   
  


Darkness faded and became a smoky gray mist around me. I sensed something...call it a presence...not far ahead. 

The fog was so thick I couldn't see more than six inches ahead of me. I put one hand straight out and held the other diagonally below it in case something waist-high stood in my path. Then, I started walking the direction I faced without knowing exactly where I would end up. I still had the damn tail, it wagged and wiggled behind me as if alive in its own right. 

Before long, I saw a silhouette in the swirling mist ahead. Good! Maybe it was Piccolo! 

I raced towards the figure as fast as I dared while practically blind. Odd, the shape seemed a little tall for Piccolo. Too tall! That wasn't Piccolo! I backpedaled hard. My stupid tail had just enough weight that I wound up falling on my butt and sliding the rest of the way forward. 

I skidded to a stop against two armored legs covered in moving blackness. Six toes the size of my forearm...three per foot...rippled lazily when I made contact. An angular head shifted. Cold, calculating eyes the same color as liquid mercury gleamed menacingly in the fog above me, a gaze so frigid that it nearly froze my soul. 

_Sweet dreams are made of this_   
_Who am I to disagree?_   
_Travel the world and the seven seas_   
_Everybody's looking for something_

The dark creature's name choked me on its way past my lips. "V-Void..." 

Oh God, I wasn't ready! I was all alone! 

_Some of them want to use you_   
_Some of them want to get used by you_   
_Some of them want to abuse you_   
_Some of them want to be abused_

The shadows around me deepened. I felt Void's cold, stinger-tipped tail caress my cheek. I gulped, she could easily push it right through my skull. The sharp protrusion reminded me of an oversized syringe needle. Flu shot from Hell! 

"Well...hello. Fancy meeting you here, Cyndi." I felt the metallic stinger drift lower, dancing dangerously nearer to my jugular. The coldness made me cringe. 

_Sweet dreams are made of this_   
_Who am I to disagree?_   
_Travel the world and the seven seas_   
_Everybody's looking for something_

I was so scared, more than I'd ever been in my life. Weird "itchy" knots formed in the pit of my stomach as my intestines stopped digesting food. My lips, mouth and throat went bone-dry. Blood roared through my ears and behind my eyes. Vision and sound came clearer to me. I was aware of everything. My heart pounded harder still against my ribs, making my whole chest visibly pulsate. I wanted to throw up. Sweat prickled all over my body. I couldn't stop gasping for air. My hands shook uncontrollably and my muscles tensed. If I had to use the bathroom, I'd have wet my pants. 

When full of adrenalin, it is truly amazing what our bodies can do. 

I felt the terror reach a climax within me. A white aura erupted around my body. 

_Some of them want to use you_   
_Some of them want to get used by you_   
_Some of them want to abuse you_   
_Some of them want to be ABUSED!!!_

"**_HIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!_**" 

I launched myself up at Void's face with a flurry of ki-lit punches and lightning fast kicks. The whole time, I screamed like crazy. Hoping someone would hear me. 

Void wasn't even phased by my sudden, desperate onslaught. She just stood there and laughed while I pounded her. Remember how Cell smacked Mr. Satan away? Void did the same thing to me. One punch sent me flying. That's all it took. She'd swatted me aside like a gnat. 

"Weakling!" 

"OOF!" I landed in a heap several yards away. Pain dug into my right side. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It even hurt to think. I was spitting up blood. I wheezed with every breath and suspected some broken ribs. 

Then a million things happened all at once. 

Footsteps approached from the right. Void's footsteps. 

A red beam sliced through the air. Void brushed it away, snickering loudly. "You! You're like an annoying insect!" She fired a white blast back at the source of the red beam. 

Movement. The fog swirled as something moved quickly through it and landed behind me. Another red beam lanced past me. Void hopped back into the cooling mist. 

I twisted my head painfully towards the beam's source. The figure stood with both legs planted and its arms up in a defensive posture. All I saw at first was a lot of white, then the details came into focus. A petite shape with purple on top, on the shoulders and stomach. Three-toed feet and a long reptilian tail. Black lips. Narrow, slanted red eyes. 

"H-how did you get here?!" I choked. 

Freeza stood down from his fighting stance, rose slightly off the ground and blurred from view. He reappeared at my side and knelt down, frowning as he examined my side. I flinched in pain when he touched it. Yep, definitely broken ribs. Freeza grabbed my shoulders and forced me to sit up. "That isn't important right now." His face was inches from mine, "You must wake up before Void gets back, or you'll die here. She's preparing another offensive as I speak!" 

I winced, my side burning when he moved me. "Owwww....what about you?" 

His pouty black lips twitched into a smirk. Ruby eyes gleamed mischievously, "My alarm will go off in about two minutes and wake me up in time for my shift at the bar. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." 

That offered little comfort. 

_I wanna use you and abuse you_   
_I wanna know what's inside you_   
_Hold your head up, movin' on_   
_Keep your head up, movin' on_   
_Movin' on!_

I guess I'll make the most of my time with him. "Hey...how's married life?" 

Freeza chuckled, let me go and stood up, "It's great. Our little girl is getting so big. Sweet little Alexis, she looks just like her mother." He lowered his head, closed his eyes and smiled. 

"I'm really glad you're happy. Hey, sorry I stopped writing, we moved out of my old place and the losers who moved in after us don't forward the mail. And I lost your address...so I'm sorry I haven't written in a while." 

"Don't sweat it." He grew serious, "Void is coming back! You must concentrate on waking up! Do it now!" 

Freeza then proceeded to fade away. His alarm clock must have gone off, thus waking him up. I wished something would come along and jolt ME out of here. 

I stared up at the fog above me. Something large was moving down towards me. Something very large and BLACK! 

_Sweet dreams are made of this_   
_Who am I to disagree?_   
_Travel the world and the seven seas_   
_Everybody's looking for something_

"Oh God..." I stared straight up at my inevitable demise and started praying, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee..." 

I heard far-off voices talking. The mist parted as Void dropped closer. I concentrated on the distant vocalizations. Void's eyes bore into mine. Her tail was coming right at my face! 

_Some of them want to use you_   
_Some of them want to get used by you_   
_Some of them want to abuse you_   
_Some of them want to be abused_

"...Holy Mary, Mother of God..." 

Those voices came closer. So did the black monster descending upon me. 

My heart throbbed. I tightened my fists. Concentrated harder than ever before. 

Void's stinger loomed in my vision. Tears streamed from my eyes, blurring my sight. 

"...Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death..." 

_I'm gonna use you and abuse you_   
_I'm gonna know what's inside_   
_Gonna use you and abuse you_   
_I'm gonna know..._

White light exploded in the sky. 

..._what's..._

Metal gleamed an inch from my forehead! A sharp tip touched my skin...I was really going to die! 

..._inside..._

"AAAH!!!!!" 

..._you..._

And then I surged to awareness.   
  


"Hey, I think she's coming around!" Bulma's voice drifted from far off. The next time she spoke, it sounded normal, "Hey, Cyndi, can you hear me?" 

I barely made my voice work, "Y-yeah..." Vocal cords don't vibrate well when they're dry. "Water...thirsty..." 

"I got it," a deeper voice cut in. Bulma's presence retreated and another came forward. I felt a large hand cup the back of my head. Something smooth touched my lower lip. Cool water filled my mouth. I swallowed fast so I wouldn't choke and took a deep breath. The hand withdrew from behind my head. 

Getting a drink made me feel stronger. Awareness sharpened. I found myself in a warm bed, stripped to the waist with bandages wrapped tightly around my ribs. Piccolo stood on the right, his liquid black eyes gazing down at me. A massive green tower of flesh and muscle and bone, he seemed taller than usual since he was standing and I wasn't. 

If I had any breasts to gawk at, I'd have been embarrassed when I realized I had nothing to cover them. A little heat crawled into my cheeks anyway. 

But hey, it was Piccolo, and he's seen me more naked than this. I could say the same about him, too. That gi of his hides a world of wonderful secrets. I've touched his body and seen him react. I knew _how and where_ to touch him when I wanted to arouse him, and he knew the same about me. I gave my virginity away to him while he was Real, and I saw into his soul. 

That's when I stopped seeing him as a love god of some sort. He was...Piccolo. An outcast with little to no social life. A man, just as mortal as you or I. I've seen him laugh, I've seen him cry and I've seen him terribly ill. There is still so much more to him that I haven't yet discovered. 

How strange I felt, looking up at him. Two years ago(my years, anyway), I stumbled into the Anime world. The moment I saw Piccolo, I lived every fan-girl's dream. Kind of like meeting a favorite celebrity - I got star-struck. Then I got to know him. Those goofy fan-girl feelings transformed. Now whenever my pulse races at the sight of him, it's because I'm glad to see him. I'll admit he's very nice to look at, but his sexy body isn't all I see. 

...Piccolo would kill me if he knew I said all this. He hates people finding out about his soft side. Not that I blame him. 

I reached out and took Piccolo's green hand in mine. "I saw Void...tried to fight her. She swatted me away like a fly." Hot tears blazed down my face, "She was about to kill me when I woke up." 

"I figured something was going on. You squirmed so much that I barely managed to carry you here." Piccolo didn't move to curl up next to me, though I wished he would have. It wasn't his style, he was always subtle with his affection. Allowing his hand to be held, for example, I doubt he let anyone else do that. 

"Freeza was there, too...in his Icejin form..." 

"Freeza?" Piccolo blinked, "How is that possible? He's human now and lives in your Reality." 

"I guess he doesn't always have human dreams. Right before I woke up, he said his alarm clock was going to wake him in two minutes or so, then he disappeared. Maybe he runs into Void from time to time...or she's going after him and he won't admit it." 

"Hmm." 

I shifted and winced as pain tore through my side. Tears threatened to fall, but I swallowed them, no time to be a baby again. A pained moan still managed to escape me. So much for being tough. 

Piccolo bent down and grabbed my shoulders, his hands warmer than my skin. Until then, I didn't realize I was cold. "Hey, you shouldn't be getting up. You have four broken ribs and you bled into your right lung. It took the medics here thirty minutes to get you stable. I'll take you back to the Lookout in the morning and have Dende heal you. I didn't want to move you while you were still unconscious and risk having you thrash around more. You were out for almost twelve hours, by the way." His face darkened, "I want you to rest as much as you can. Your injuries are very severe...even for this Saiyajin form." 

I felt my heart skip a beat. "I can't go back to sleep after that! Void knows I'm hurt and she'll come after me again! And I...I'm scared, Piccolo. She almost killed me!" 

His left eye twitched. "I know, I kept trying to get to you. She was blocking me. Apparently she can only block one person at a time, since Freeza was there with you. If we train hard enough, we'll be able to take her together. Remember, it's all willpower. That means I have to train harder too if I want to be at her level." 

"Mmm." I agreed. "Oh hey...sorry I wrecked your nice, peaceful birthday." 

The Namek's lips curved into a slight half-smile, "Don't worry about it. A little excitement keeps life interesting." 

"Heheh..." I winced again at the annoying stitch in my ribs, "I can't believe you're a spring baby. I was born in the middle of summer...July twenty-ninth. I'll be twenty-three." 

"Hmph! I don't see why someone's age is of such importance where you come from." 

"Laws. All laws. For example, you're not legally an adult until you're eighteen and you can't gamble or drink alcohol unless you're twenty-one." I blinked up at Piccolo when he rubbed the side of his face. The poor guy looked totally exhausted. Had he been sitting with me all day? 

I got my answer when Piccolo displayed a yawn that let me practically count his teeth. Funny, I never saw him yawn before. Then he blinked a few times with moisture in the corners of his eyes. 

"Man, you're exhausted. Here," I pulled the blankets down on my left side and patted the bed, "Take off your weighted gear so you don't crush me and come get some rest." I giggled, though doing so made my side burn, "I promise I won't molest you while you're asleep." 

"Gee, that makes me feel safer," Grinning wryly, he dabbed at the moisture around his eyes with his knuckles. "I guess I'll catch a few hours..." I heard a thump as he shed his heavy gear and walked around to the other side of the bed. Then an idea struck him. He produced the dream catcher from his belt and hung it on the bedpost. "For luck," was the only explanation offered. 

"Hey, you never know. It might really work." 

Piccolo didn't answer. The mattress sagged when he sat down and bent over to pull off his shoes. I held the blankets up further so he'd be more inclined to get under them...thus saving me the trouble of fighting his weight to pull them up later. 

Another hand grasped the quilted comforter and blankets. Then I felt Piccolo's long body slide under the sheets next to me. I expected to find myself facing a broad back...but Piccolo is full of surprises. He turned over and looked right into my eyes. Gravity forced me closer so I was pressed gently against his broad green chest. I could hear and feel him breathing. I even felt his heartbeat. Both of our heads rested on the same pillow, our faces less than four inches apart. We were breathing each others' breath. Our combined body heat quickly warmed the sheets and erased my goosebumps. 

It was obvious that Piccolo liked the toasty bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he rumbled in wordless contentment with half-closed eyes. 

"Nice and comfortable, isn't it?" I smiled. "I know you like warmth." 

Piccolo blinked sleepily at me, "It's not too bad..." He breathed in through his nose, yawned again and bumped his legs into mine without apology as he made himself more comfortable. 

I turned slowly onto my side and wrapped both of my legs around one of his so he'd stop wiggling around. Piccolo didn't offer any protest, not even when I rubbed his calf with my heel. He stopped fighting the exhaustion and let his eyes drift shut. I felt the muscular thigh trapped between my legs go limp. His head sank further into the pillow until only half his face stayed visible. He smacked his lips and exhaled again. 

Aww. 

"Sleep tight, Piccolo." 

Piccolo made a sexy little noise deep in his throat to reply, "Mmhmm," and then he went out like a light. His face was so peaceful and sweet, all relaxed with his mouth slightly open and perpetual frown temporarily absent. He looked...how can I put it?...noble. I think that word suits him perfectly. Piccolo looked noble. Though sleep smoothed away the frown and the sneer, it didn't erase the awe his presence evoked. Who would be stupid enough to risk incurring the wrath of the sleeping demon? 

Smiling slightly, I pulled the blankets up over his muscular shoulder, which rose and fell slowly as he breathed. I let my hand slide up to cup his angular cheek, gently caressing his smooth, leathery skin. Piccolo didn't even twitch. I shifted my attention to his upturned ear, tracing the stiff outer cartilage with one finger. No reaction, he was sound asleep. That made me giggle silently, _Piccolo is sleeping next to me...he looks so sweet..._

I craned my neck to kiss his forehead, lightly so I wouldn't wake him. "You are the most beautiful creature ever created." Then I curled up with my head up under his chin and tried to get a little sleep for myself.   
  


If I dreamed, I don't remember doing so. All I know is I opened my eyes and the sun was just coming up. Morning light streamed through the window, forming a large oblong of light on the far wall. 

Piccolo's weight still rested beside me, though during the night he'd turned onto his back. Gone was the calm expression I witnessed earlier. Definitely dreaming this time, and not a nice one. Both fists crushed handfuls of the blankets. Sweat dripped off his brow. He breathed heavily and I saw his eyeballs moving rapidly beneath their lids. 

My side still ached dully. Not as bad as last night, I managed to sit up without too much pain. I was fine as long as I didn't twist my torso more than an inch. 

Piccolo growled low in his throat. He twisted his head to the side, lips and eyelids twitching. His breathing hitched. Then I saw rivulets of blood and fluid run out from under his right eye. The eyelid over it flattened. He hissed in obvious pain. 

Oh no, Void had him! 

"Piccolo! Wake up!" I grabbed Piccolo by the shoulders and shook him hard. 

The Namek's hand shot out and wrapped around my throat. It squeezed so tight I thought my eyeballs were gonna pop in my head! I had no hope of breaking his iron grip! 

"Piccolo! It's me, Cyndi! Get away from Void! If you can hear me..." Nothing. The fist around my neck remained firm. I struggled fruitlessly against the taut emerald skin. The lack of oxygen made me feel woozy. I got desperate. Having Piccolo mad at me for this was better than being dead. I grabbed both of his antennae, looped them once around my index fingers like dental floss and yanked them in opposite directions as hard as I could. The skin between them split open and started bleeding like a stuck pig. 

Dammit, I forgot I wasn't human anymore. My tail bumped the back of my head as if reminding me. I growled at it. 

"Argh!" Piccolo awoke instantly at the sudden pain. The hand wrapped around my scrawny neck instantly clutched the new sore spot. He shifted the hand to cover his right eye and sat up, snarling, "Dammit...I couldn't find her!" 

I faced him. Too fast, my hands both pressed themselves against my wounded ribs to staunch the burning. "She did the same thing to me too...jumped into the fog." 

"Fog? Hmph! It was completely dark. I had to use my sensing abilities to locate her." Piccolo clutched his eye harder, bared his teeth and bent forward a little in obvious pain. Probably a scratched cornea or something. The wound on his forehead was already gone, probably healed on its own. 

I pressed a hand against his ridged, pink-muscled shoulder, "Is it bad? Let me see...maybe I can wash it out for you." 

He chuckled coldly at me, "You can't wash this out, kid." 

"You'd be surprised. C'mon, let me see." I grabbed Piccolo's ringed wrist and yanked it out of the away so I could see his injury. I instantly wished I hadn't. What I saw still makes me gag when I think about it. 

Piccolo's half-melted eyeball hung freely from its socket like a deflated balloon on a string against his cheek. The dull white optic nerve was the only thing that kept it from falling completely out. Blood and fluids trickled freely from the slimy purple hole where the eyeball should've been. I gasped in horror and covered my mouth with both hands. My stomach turned over a little, but I swallowed to stay strong. 

"Oh God..." I whispered, "C-can you regenerate that or is it permanent? I mean...you said if your head isn't damaged you can, and your eyes are part of your head..." 

"_Part_ of my head, yes. Now give me a minute." Piccolo grabbed the nerve between two fingers and tore it out of his skull. He did it like he was plucking a stray hair. Then he closed both eyes, concentrating. I heard a wet sloshing noise and watched the flattened set of eyelids suddenly regain their normal shape. Green slime oozed between them to join the blood and other fluids running down that side of his face. 

Ew, gross! I never realized all the nasty sounds a Namekian's regenerating could make. 

Want to know something else that's disgustingly funny? That green 'slime' left over after a Namek re-grows something is actually mucus pumped full of DNA. There's even more to it than that: Nameks can generate the same goo onto on a tissue-stalk situated in their throats between their windpipe and esophagus, tell their body to regenerate and it'll fool their system into 'regenerating' an egg ready to be puked up. It's the egg's size that forces it up into their mouths. So Namek's don't 'carry' their young. They produce and puke. Then they just regenerate the stalk and do it all over again. Makes sense, since Guru repopulated the Namek race that way. I remember Piccolo letting Nail explain it to me once a long time ago. Genetic boogers and instant babies. Yum, yum. 

I bet you'll never look the same way at the leftover slime on a Namek's regenerated limb. 

I climbed slowly onto my knees so I didn't have to twist. Plucked three gauze pads from the medical kit Bulma left behind and used them to gently wipe the green goop, blood and other fluids off Piccolo's cheek. He kept his eyes cooperatively shut until I finished cleaning his face. "Ugh...seeing you regenerate always looked cool on TV...but that sounded NASTY!" I chucked the gooey gauze in a random direction. "I've always wondered this...does regenerating hurt as bad as you make it look? I mean, you know...you always yell when you do it with an arm or a hand." 

Piccolo opened both dark eyes and blinked after I stopped 'mothering' him. Unless you saw him a moment earlier, you'd never know anything happened to his eye. He smirked at me, "It hurts like hell every time. The worst is having to regenerate several large body parts one at a time. Ears and eyes are nothing. But both arms and legs...well I'd rather not deal with that." 

"Like when Trunks knocked you over while you were...pardon the term...stoned? The TV didn't show you after Dabura's spell wore off...all my world saw was your foot. That must've been horrible for you." 

He grimaced at the memory. "Yeah, exactly. Waking up without arms or legs and having my own internal organs spilling out into my gi wasn't exactly a picnic. Trunks saw what was left after I'd regenerated and took cover to re-materalize my torn clothing. Poor kid, I guess he deserved it after knocking me over in the first place." 

"Yeah." 

Piccolo lifted my arm, unwrapped part of the bandage and examined the ugly bruising on my side. I blushed when he pushed my hair aside for a clearer view, the room was cold and...well...it showed. So much for modesty. I covered myself with my hand while Piccolo re-wrapped my bandages. He ignored my embarrassment. "Think you can stand up?" 

"Maybe...dunno 'till I try though. I'll need a shirt before we leave or else I'm not going anywhere. I don't need Vegeta seeing me butt-naked again." 

This time Piccolo, who was donning his cape and turban, looked squarely at my chest. I was practically pointing at him. His cheeks turned a little purple, matching the heat spreading through my face. "...er...oh, yeah." He aimed a hand towards me and materialized a plain black T-shirt that went with my sweats. 

I have to admit, Piccolo was pretty cute about the whole ordeal. He stood by the bed and let me grab onto his gi for leverage so I could pull myself up. New agony almost doubled me over. Tears blurred my vision. "Ohhh my God...I think you're gonna have to carry me, Piccolo. I didn't know it'd be this bad...how about we just lay back down and make out for a while?" 

The Namek scowled, his dark eyes suddenly intense, "Get serious, we're wasting time! Now prepare yourself, being lifted will hurt. Brace your side and hold it tight until we get to the Lookout." 

"Ack...okay, okay." I wrapped my tail and both arms around myself, clutching the wounded side. Piccolo picked me up like he always did. More invisible knives stabbed my ribs from inside. I chewed hard on my bottom lip so Piccolo wouldn't see how much pain I was really in. "O-okay...let's go."   
  


I never thought flying back to the Lookout could take so long. Amazing how pain makes time crawl. I'll take my cramps over broken ribs any day! 

Piccolo landed gracefully on the hard stone ground. He knelt and settled me gently in a sitting position, his face expressionless. Typical Piccolo, one moment he's open to talk to you and the next he's all business again. He keeps a heavy lid over his emotions, which can change instantly without warning. That iron control is what makes Piccolo so dangerous in a fight. The problem is he carries it over into everyday life, and dealing with his changing moods takes some getting used to. 

"Ooh, finally we're here," I moaned, holding my side. My tail uncoiled itself and waved behind me, I don't think I'll ever get used to having it. 

"Relax, Dende's on his way." 

I nodded. More waiting, yay. I spent the time exploring my furry brown Saiyajin tail. Piccolo moved a short distance away and assumed his usual stance: arms crossed with his cape blowing in the wind. 

"Piccolo!" Dende hailed us as he emerged into the cool morning light. He must've gotten some sleep, he looked much more alert than last time. 

Piccolo faced Dende, nodded towards me without a word and resumed his previous position. 

Dende came to me and knelt down, "This might take a minute." He closed his eyes, extended his hands and concentrated. A warm golden glow washed over my body. It felt like standing in warm sunlight on a chilly day. The warmth concentrated in my side and soothed away the constant ache. I was very aware of it when my ribs popped painlessly back into place. The swelling was the last to disappear. 

Refreshed, I got to my feet. Tore off the itchy bandages hidden under my shirt. There wasn't so much as a mark there! I felt stronger, I could beat anyone! Wow! 

"Yahoo!" I did a cartwheel, "I'm healed! I feel great! Wow, Dende, you're awesome!" 

The healing Namek smiled at me, his cheeks slightly purple. "Thank you, anything else you or Piccolo need at the moment?" 

"Um...I know this sounds very Goku-ish...but..." I wagged my furry brown tail, "can we eat? I don't need much just a candy - " 

Piccolo shot me a very sharp look, daring me to finish my request, and I stared back like a deer in headlights. I remembered the promise he made earlier about what he'd do if he caught me eating chocolate. Though I didn't know what he'd do, I knew I wouldn't like it. 

I changed my statement, "I'll just have a big, fat carrot..." There. If I can't have my chocolate, I'll just annoy Piccolo by CRUNCHING as loud as I can! Humph! 

Piccolo's eyes cooled. He smirked at me and turned away. "You can eat it on the way into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. We have six months to get this training done right....that's all the time I have left to spend in there before I'm unable to return. We'll get plenty done, don't worry." 

"Okay," I checked my pocket for the Capsule containing my backpack, medicine and pads. I had both, good. 

Two minutes later, Piccolo and I, with a carrot in hand, were stepping through the almost-familiar brown door. As soon as we entered the stuffy half-Real, half-Anime room, I took a huge bite out of the carrot. 

CRUUUUUUNCH! 

It was so loud the dividing line between our realities rippled. 

Piccolo winced and gave me a look that could melt bricks. I chewed obnoxiously with my mouth wide open so he could see me masticating my meal. He growled and looked away, "Cyndi! That's disgusting!" His voice thundered through the acoustically perfect room. 

"Oh, and melted eyeballs falling on your cheek isn't?" I swallowed the gritty orange vegetable remnants, ate the rest in one bite and grinned, "You should've let me have the candy bar." 

He frowned, baring his fangs, "Enough. You know full well that resisting the temptation is part of your training. Now come on, we can't keep messing around." 

"All righty then." Okay, maybe skipping my first dose of medication was a bad idea. I hate how I act, but I wasn't sure if Piccolo was going to mix up that drink for me or not. I mean, if drinking alcohol with my medicine is dangerous, then how do I know the same isn't true for the other stuff? "Which side are we doing this on?" 

Piccolo touched his chin with a finger, pondering. "Your side, you're too wild in your Saiyajin form and I can't risk the arrogance it brings getting the better of you. We can mix physical training in my side with mental training in yours...just in case Void goes beyond our dreams." 

"Cool." Without hesitation I stepped into my side. My tail disappeared instantly and my hair lost its frizz. Weird, I didn't miss the tail or wild hair. 

While I lost some parts, Piccolo gained a few. Unseen, of course. I watched him transform from Anime to Real...I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'll never get over how he looks in the flesh. His skin matches grass perfectly and his pointed ears put Mr. Spock's to shame. He also has dark, mysterious gray eyes with a large pupil in the center and...heheh...sexy Michael Keaton lips. It's just funny because his face is so angular and then he's got those softly-curved lips to offset it all. Too bad they aren't drawn on in the show, huh? 

And they're kissable. Very, very kissable... 

"Now, let's get to work," the tall Namek came towards me without missing a beat. I remembered stating a long time ago he was around six foot five inches tall like my dad...well, I goofed. Piccolo was way taller than that. I'm five-one and my head barely reaches the bottom of his pecs(and my nose is in the middle of my dad's chest!). That makes him more around six foot ten to seven feet even. Blah, I'm bad at judging heights! 

Let me make it simple: Piccolo is damn tall. In the flesh he's ten times more imposing than in his Anime form. If you didn't know him, you would seriously run away in terror. 

But I wasn't afraid of him. Quite the opposite. I gazed up at his handsome green face and smiled, "I'm ready." 

"Good," Piccolo loomed over me with his arms crossed, smirking. I was in for it, I knew it as soon as his head lowered and his eyelids lifted to accommodate the shift, "...I'm going to enjoy this." 


	6. Part Five

Self-insertion and mild language warning. Don't trip over the lemon near the end(no it isn't nasty and yes it does have a purpose in the plot, it's very surreal.) ;) This chapter is a lot longer than the others, so feel free to sit back, have some popcorn and enjoy.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Five

  
  
  


I couldn't help but feel a little nervous when I saw the look in Piccolo's eyes. He said he was going to enjoy this...now what exactly did he mean by that? Was he looking forward to training? Did he have some evil plan for making it harder on me? Where were we going to do this and how? 

"Piccolo," I laced my fingers nervously together against my stomach, "I was wondering if that drink you mix would affect my other medicine. I mean...it's a stimulant called Dexedrine, it helps my concentration tremendously and gives me some control of my temper. I, you know...just wondered because that vial of stuff makes me feel drunk and I can't mix alcohol with my pill." 

Piccolo cocked his turban-clad head slightly to the left, pondering. He ran his tongue across his amazing front teeth, made a little slurping noise with his lips and replied, "Tch, it shouldn't. My mixture just relaxes your muscles, it doesn't make your brain cells swell up like I've heard alcohol does. If your medicine helps you concentrate, take it. You need all the focus you can get." 

"Okay, cool. I'm gonna freshen myself up, too. I concentrate better if I'm not worried about what I look like." Without another word after that, I darted into the bathroom and pulled the curtain across the doorway. I un-Capsuled my medicine and took it with a scoop of water from the sink. Then I un-Capsuled my backpack, pulled out my hairbrush and makeup and went to work. I don't even know why I was putting makeup on. I just...felt like it. 

A new, slightly older-looking face smiled at me in the mirror when I finished. I'd "smoked" my eyes with a mix of black and silver. Pink blush gave me a little color. My lips were deep red to go with my black shirt. Since I'm pale I felt like my lips matched rose petals. I don't use foundation, my complexion is fine without it and my skin only gets oily during my period. I feel lucky in that area, it makes putting my makeup on a quick process. 

I blotted my lipstick on a piece of toilet paper. Coloring my lips with lip liner before applying the actual lipstick really does keep it on longer, I found out, and it also keeps the toilet paper flakes off when I blot. I brushed my hair again to make sure all the tangles were out. Checked myself one last time, tipping my head this way and that. I felt like I looked...sexy. Well, as sexy as a flat-chested, disgustingly-thin girl can feel, anyway. 

Damn, I was wasting time! I put everything back into the backpack and Capsuled it. Poof. No more backpack for now. "Okay...just be tough out there. He won't make me do anything I can't handle..." 

Talk was cheap, it didn't help. I still had to walk out there and face the music. It was like preparing for a dip in ice water. I could step in slow and prolong it, or I could dive right in and deal with the shock. 

_God, I am such a chicken-shit._ I frowned at my reflection. My stomach tightened. _Hah! Let's change that right now!_

Tossing my knee-length brown hair, I threw the curtain aside and marched right back out to Piccolo. He stood facing away from me, arms crossed and head lowered. I sauntered coyly towards him, "Hey..." 

Piccolo lifted his head up and did an about-face, cape swishing gracefully. He eyeballed me curiously. Then he frowned, shadowing his eyes, "You did something to your face..." 

"It's makeup, Piccolo. Bulma wears it all the time, you know, her face isn't like that naturally." I explained, smiling, "Women wear it to look pretty or to disguise less-than-perfect features...applied right it can make an older woman look a little younger and make a younger woman look a little older. I like to put it on because it makes me look closer to my age. I mean...I get tired of people always thinking I'm fourteen or fifteen all the time. You know, I always have to flash my photo ID to order wine in a restaurant, but once I went in with my parents with my makeup on and the waiter took my order without asking for the card! Cool, huh?" 

No answer. 

Suddenly shy, I gazed down towards the floor. _Ugh, maybe he's like my dad and doesn't like it..._

A warm hand touched my chin and raised it. I found myself once again staring up at Piccolo's emerald visage. His intense gaze scanned my face...studying everything. He touched my lips with his thumb, examined the thin flecks of red that came off on it and focused on me again. "It looks nice." Then came that rare, affectionate half-smile, "I'm just not used to seeing you look so grown up, kid." 

Prickly heat oozed through my cheeks as I blushed under my blush(ooooh, I hope it didn't show!). He had no idea what he just did for my self-esteem. "Thanks...hey, let's get started. Can we sit on one of the beds? The floor always makes my butt sore." 

Piccolo's smile became a toothy grin that made my heart swell. I love his smile. "Sure, let's go." 

Together, we headed for the nearest bed and climbed onto the soft mattress. Piccolo took out the vial and powder and prepared my drink. Piccolo's Poison Cocktail, heh, that sounded like a good name for it. I watched his careful hands wrap around the silver vial, pour the water and then sprinkle in the powder. Even those simple motions seemed special to me. 

I also noticed the dream catcher tucked in his belt. It looked really pretty when it was Real. Piccolo didn't protest when I reached over and snagged it. 

I held the dream catcher up with both index fingers and peered at Piccolo through the delicate white weave in the center. My Namekian friend appeared trapped inside a woven string prison. I smiled at an unbidden mental image of him naked and chained to the bed with fuzzy pink handcuffs. Somehow I doubted Piccolo even knew about bondage. I removed the chains in my mind. Imagined him just sleeping, his sculpted body stretched out deliciously on the mattress. That appealed to me more. 

Argh, I have such a dirty mind. 

"...Earth to Cyndi." Piccolo's hand materialized before me. His fingers gently held the steaming vial. 

"Huh?! Oh!" My eyes came back into focus and I lowered the dream catcher, feeling a little silly. "Sorry, I was thinking. Heheh...oookay..." I lifted the silver container from Piccolo's fist. I was getting used to its odd taste, no more cringing. Handing the empty vial back, I took a deep breath, "Now what?" 

"Now you must think about something and tell me what you're thinking of. I will think of the same thing. Then we'll enter the dream state and see what we come up with. It's the first step to attuning our minds." 

I brightened, "Oh, that's easy!" 

"Heh, you'd be surprised." Piccolo eyed me benevolently, "C'mon, picture something." 

"Okay...okay, here goes..." My eyes zoned out again. I imagined the ocean, bright and blue like liquid sapphire lit from below. Warm white sand. A black sky lit by millions of distant stars that went on forever. Unbidden, I'd recalled that alien image of Pensacola in the movie _Contact._ If only beaches like that existed for real. 

"Now tell me what you see." 

"I see..." and I described the image to Piccolo the best I could. For me, writing is easier than speaking - I hope he understood my stilted excuse of a description. 

Apparently it was satisfactory enough for him. He held out both hands palms-forward. I placed my hands against his and felt our fingers interlock. Piccolo respected my need for quiet by staying silent, letting me fall into the trance on my own.   
  


The vista stretched before me just the way I pictured it. I looked around for signs of Piccolo...and whatever additions he made to the image I described for him. 

A large full moon hung low over the horizon, making silver sparkles on the clear water. Crystalline trees(well they _looked_ like trees to me) dotted the sand here and there. They acted like prisms that showered my eyes in dazzling color each time I blinked. White rocks protruded from the water's surface, some of them around ten feet wide. 

Piccolo, in his Anime form, stood on the largest one not too far away from the shore. He was looking around just as curiously as I. Wow, we almost pictured the same thing! The trees, the moon, the rocks and a few clouds were from Piccolo, I could tell that much. But _wow_...I just can't believe how closely our minds produced the same image! 

I focused hard on keeping my surroundings clear. Despite this, details kept flickering like a TV screen with bad reception. It was frustrating - no matter how hard I concentrated, it still wouldn't stay steady! 

"Piccolo!" I gasped, unable to remain quiet, "I can't believe we're doing this! Look at it, it's amazing!" 

The Namek leapt from the rock and glided to shore. His movement generated surprisingly little wind, I don't think his cape even moved. 

"Yes, it looks all fine and dandy, but we're nowhere near ready to face Void yet. Until we can both maintain a dreamscape without falter, she has an advantage." 

I nodded my head slowly. Tried desperately to keep the landscape around me intact. "Hey, Piccolo? What temptation are you resisting to strengthen _your_ willpower?" 

Piccolo inhaled slowly through his nose and closed his dark eyes. "Not much. I just allow myself one long drink of water a day." 

His casual statement left me gawking. Man, I felt like such a loser. Here I complain about not having precious chocolate and he's denying himself his only source of nourishment. Something told me it was as difficult for him as it was for me, and that's why he acted so grumpy in the Room of Dreaming. 

"That's a little severe, even for you." 

"Void is severe," Piccolo curled his lip, growling, "I can survive for up to three weeks without water, so don't you worry about me. Just concentrate on the dream and clear it up. You're already losing focus." 

"Bah! You forget I don't have a perfect mind." I grinned, more at myself than his statement, "You might be able to read something, talk to someone else and levitate a pyramid at the same time, but I can't. If you want me to do well, I've gotta have at least one good thing or two extremely similar things to focus on, or my brain has an illegal operation and shuts down." 

"As if Void would go easy on you just for that. If anything she'll exploit that weakness." He gave me a confused one-eyeridge-up look, "Nobody has a perfect mind, anyway." 

I shook my head and stared ahead, bringing my surroundings back into clarity. Nodding his approval, Piccolo glanced around. 

"Now try adding something, it can be anything. Keep it simple for now...let's see what you can do. Stay focused. This exercise will teach you to see through tricks Void might throw at you." 

Something simple. Let's see now, what's easy to picture and not very dangerous? I let my mind wander through a list of things. Minutes passed and nothing happened. Then my body alerted me to an urgent need. Unbidden, the image symbolizing that need surfaced in my mind - and I focused on it a little too long. 

A toilet dropped from the sky... 

**_CRACK!_**

"ARGH!" 

...and landed squarely Piccolo's head! Upon impact the toilet broke into two perfect halves that landed on either side of him. Piccolo dropped to his knees, growling and clutching his head in pain. Some jagged flecks of white still clung stubbornly to his turban. 

"Grrrrrr!" The Namek bared his teeth, seething, "IS THIS YOUR IDEA OF A JOKE?!" 

"No...it's...just...pfffffffffftHAHAHAHA!" I succumbed to laughter so powerful it doubled me over. A toilet just fell on Piccolo's head, now that's pretty funny! Why didn't I think of that before? "S-Sorry, it's just that.....I - AAAAHAHAHA...I gotta go to the bathroom and....HEHEHEHE...the toilet came to mind! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! I better stop laughing or I'm going to pee my pants.....WAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!" 

By then I'd made a mess of the whole session. The dream was pretty much shot and only Piccolo's additions to the surroundings remained clear. The landscape became as barren as an incomplete video game still being programmed. 

"Well why didn't you go while you were painting your face up?" Piccolo took his turban off and shook the ceramic shards off, glaring at me. He had a huge, pulsating purple bump on top of his head. The weight in his turban probably saved him from any real injury, I'd hate to have seen the results if he wasn't wearing it. 

"I...hehehe...didn't have to go then." My giggles were settling down. "I think it's the potion." 

Piccolo nodded. His cheeks turned a little purple, "Hmph...well, I guess we'll take a break then so you can relieve yourself. We'll resume in an hour." He touched the knot on his cranium and winced, "And I'm going to need some ice."   
  


The moment I could lift my head, I was running for the bathroom. One more second of sitting there and I would've wet my pants. I swear, I peed for almost two minutes straight. Stupid potion. At least I'd finally quit thinking about toilets. 

Piccolo was still sitting on the bed. He'd taken his turban off and busied himself by rubbing the bump. In Reality the swelling wasn't as pronounced, but it did look pretty painful. Poor guy - he wasn't even powered up when he got hit! I could've killed him! For all I know Piccolo is as vulnerable as a normal human when he isn't using his energy to protect himself. 

I felt bad, I'd behaved completely inappropriately in front of him and laughed about it after he got hurt! As I always do whenever I did something idiotic, I berated myself, _Stupid girl...you always do this! Now he probably thinks you're a blithering idiot. Of course this wouldn't happen if you weren't autistic and acted your age! But that'll never happen. You'll always be an immature child inside no matter how old you get. You'll be stupid and weak for the rest of your life! Live with it!_

Trudging past the bed with my head down, I approached the fridge and pulled a small block of ice from the freezer. I set the piece on the counter. Then I channeled all the anger at myself into a single blow. I smashed that ice chunk into at least a hundred pieces...even though doing so left my fist bruised. Pain I deserved for being such a retard. I crushed the biggest ice chunk one more time. Then I wrapped the pieces in a rag and headed back over to Piccolo, who still favored the sore spot. Boy I hoped he didn't have some kind of closed head injury or something equally nasty. 

"Here," the mattress hardly moved when I climbed on, my slight weight meant nothing to it. "Lemme see how bad it is." 

Piccolo rumbled wordlessly, wiggled off his bulky shoulderpads and lowered his head so I could see the bruise. Ugh, because of me he had a knot as big around as a golf ball. 

"Ew...it looks pretty bad." I leaned down and lightly kissed the bump. Then I pushed him to lay down so I could press the ice pack against the sore spot without my arm getting tired. Piccolo complied without too much complaint. I settled down next to him on my stomach and held the ice in place with one hand. 

Piccolo's silence stretched on. I spent those noiseless moments wondering if he was still pissed off at my behavior. His stone-faced expression didn't offer me any clues. He laid and I sat, staring at each other uncomfortably. 

Finally, his lips parted, "I wonder..." 

"Yeah?" 

"Why do you always mother me?" His serious expression suggested this question wasn't a joking one. "Every time I get hurt and you're around, you act like this." 

I sensed heat in my cheeks and tried vainly to staunch it. "Well...you know...it's, uhh...a female thing, really. It's just a natural instinct for a woman to comfort and take care of someone they love when they're hurt. I mean...sometimes a simple touch can make terrible pain seem less horrible." I lowered my head a little as the warmth spread to my forehead and neck. "You have no idea how many times I've seen you get hurt and wanted to hold you." 

Half of Piccolo's mouth curled upwards a little, "But you're so touchy-feely. You're always touching me." 

"Yeah, well..." I shrugged and tilted my head from side to side. 

"...it's really not so bad," his scratchy voice cut in, "once you get used to it." 

I glanced down to make sure I'd heard right. The corner of Piccolo's mouth stretched upwards some more, answering my silent question. 

Something in his eyes trapped me...oftentimes eye-contact makes me extremely uncomfortable, but this time I couldn't look away. Those granite orbs, flecked slightly with silver near the pupils, were like black holes that sucked me right into their depths. Normally his pupils were contracted, a steel trap that let no one see in. But this time they were dilated and large. They swirled and shimmered. Somewhere behind their enigmatic sheen, locked away in a hidden corner of his mind, were his hopes, his dreams, his emotions and his soul. I had the key, but the trick was finding the lock. 

"...Piccolo?" I began meekly. 

His response came as a faint, throaty rumble. "Mm?" 

"What would you say..." I lowered my eyelids and casually trailed a finger over his slender left antenna. The appendage quivered when I caressed it. That reaction made me braver. I dropped my voice to a more husky level, "...if I said I wanted to kiss you right now?" 

A wisp of moist breath bathed my face. Piccolo kept staring deep into my eyes, pondering. Then his eyelids fluttered shut. He didn't speak, but he parted his lips enough that I saw the tips of his fangs. They shifted slowly, gleaming, as he breathed. 

My heart doubled its speed behind my ribcage. That simple expression spoke volumes of restrained desire. He'd opened the door for me, now I had to enter and draw him out. 

I bent down and captured those delicious lips, our mouths mashing together. A few seconds passed before I felt the tension that indicated he was responding. The Namek's normally smooth doors of breath were chapped from his drastic water-fasting, but their warmth outshone the roughness. 

"Piccolo," My voice came out no louder than a sigh between moments when our lips parted, "I love you...I've always loved you..." I framed his face in my palms, losing myself again in his dynamic, heavily-lidded eyes, "Please don't hide inside yourself, not from me. Drop your walls for a little while and let me really see you." 

Piccolo's eyes flew fully open. I heard him suck in a quick breath. Streaks of red on and around his lips marked where my lipstick smeared, there was probably more on him than me. He was staring at me like I'd slapped him across the face, a purple flush spreading all over his cheeks and ears. 

Stupid me. I'd ruined the mood. Dejected, I pushed myself up and started sliding away. 

A hand shot up and grabbed the back of my head. Another pressed itself between my shoulderblades. I was yanked down into one of the most bruising kisses I've ever experienced. In one smooth motion Piccolo nudged my mouth open and made love to it with his lips and tongue like a hummingbird feeding on nectar from a flower. Like the rest of him, his lips and tongue were overpowering, I couldn't have resisted them if I wanted to. I wanted to gasp, but he'd stolen my breath away. 

I swung myself over to straddle his stomach, somehow our mouths remained locked together. Our tongues continued their duel. His dominated mine and he pressed beyond my lips again. I followed the plunging V neckline of his gi with my fingertips. His warm, textured skin tickled my fingers. 

Just as abruptly, the liplock ended. Piccolo's tongue withdrew from my oral cavity and our faces separated. Both of us were pretty out of breath. I don't know about Piccolo...but I certainly felt the blood rushing to different areas in my body. I tingled every time I felt him breathe on my cheek. 

When several seconds passed and neither of us moved, I realized it was up to me to keep this thing going. Poor Piccolo, he'd done it twice and he still didn't know how to continue the foreplay. Fortunately for us, I did! And I wanted to wind him tighter than he'd ever been wound before. 

With a smile of feigned innocence, I set about indulging his sweetest spots. Piccolo has several erogenous zones...his ears, his neck, his antennae and his lips, to name a few. I shoved my face up under his chin and tasted his green Namekian flesh. Deliciously salty. The leathery skin tensed on contact as the tip of my tongue drew a wet line towards his large, pointed ear. My fingers snaked their way up behind his ears and I moved my thumbs in gentle circles over the join between his ears and head. This drives him absolutely crazy, I discovered. His ears and antennae twitched simultaneously. I grinned when I saw goosebumps break out all over his body. Not yet done, I wrapped my lips around his earlobe. I nipped him hard, making him jump. I blew my breath into his ear and used my tongue to attack the spot my fingers were massaging earlier. He shivered harder and growled from deep in his throat. 

Piccolo disentangled his fingers from my hair. The world shifted and I wound up on my back with his solid weight pinning me to the bed. 

"You let your guard down," He frowned deeply at me. I could tell he was only half-serious by the upturned corner of his kiss-swollen lips. I watched him back away, sit up on his knees and exhale noisily. That's when I noticed the impressive cloth mountain sticking up from his purple leggings. His excitement, and knowing that only a piece of cloth separated me from it, increased mine ten-fold. 

I climbed onto his lap and captured Piccolo's mouth again, giggling a little. Echoed his previous comment, "You let your guard down." Then I pressed my hips forward, crushing his stiffness gently against his stomach. Piccolo shuddered and leaned back to watch me, his face still locked in stoicness. 

Well, Piccolo wouldn't keep that mask on for long. Not if I could help it. 

I abandoned the mini lap dance and melded our lips again, only this time I traced his ears again with my fingertips. They were warm and slightly damp from sweat. The more I caressed them, the warmer they became. 

"You are delicious...and I want you. I want to feel everything you are." I drew a quivering antenna into my mouth. Its cool, bulbous tip pulsated against my probing tongue. I barely contained my delight when I realized I was literally making him squirm and moan under me. 

Piccolo gasped and grabbed my face hard between his hands. He breathed heavily, his face flushed as he scowled at me with unmasked desire burning in his dark eyes. 

"You keep teasing me, why?" 

Leave it to a Namek to ask an innocent question like that. 

I giggled, nuzzling my face against his palms, "It sets the mood. Anticipation is just as fun as the actual thing. I mean...it makes the delightful waiting worth it." 

He blinked. "So...when do we take our clothes off?" 

Oh that was it! I buried my face in his broad chest and laughed. I think Piccolo saw the humor in it too, because he started chuckling along with me. 

I sat up and smiled, "Get undressed and wait here," and then I dashed for the bathroom. 

_Okay, settle down...I can't be a total vixen...do I even know HOW to be a vixen? Argh!_ Shedding my clothes, I piled them up on the toilet. I touched up my makeup, brushed my hair and arranged it so some covered my breasts and lower region. Look out, Lady Godiva! 

My heart stopped when I peeked around the curtain at Piccolo. 

Piccolo lay supine, completely naked, on the bed. One ridged green and pink leg was bent sharply like an upside down V, hiding his arousal from my view, and the other rested straight. He had his eyes closed and both arms folded behind his bald head. Oh he was glorious, an emerald Adonis wrapped in over two hundred pounds of flesh, muscle and bone. I felt the drummer in my chest up his tempo at the sight of Piccolo's nude body laid out for me. I hoped my puny toothpick frame wasn't going to disappoint him. 

I took a deep, cleansing breath and drew aside the cloth. Forced my quivering legs to walk towards the beautiful green man on the bed. The cold floor chilled my burning feet with each step. Suddenly the distance seemed like miles. I could walk forever and never reach him. 

All at once, I'd reached the bed. I stood there with my arms criss-crossed in front of myself, gripping my shoulders with my hands to keep my hair in place. Drew in another lungful of air. Concentrated on nothing but his stern, handsome face. 

"Piccolo," I spoke his name reverently. The sound cut like a knife in the silent room. It made the air blaze a million degrees hotter. I felt my nipples stand erect under the shrouds of my hair. A warm, aching sensation formed between my legs and spread up into my pelvic regions. I actually felt my inner cavity lengthen, lifting my womb higher in anticipation. The inner muscles twitched three times. I shivered when I detected the musky scent of my own arousal. 

The Namek's eyelids lifted as soon as I spoke. They told me stories of barely-contained lust, curiosity and wonder. I had to smile when I saw him take a few deep breaths. 

Piccolo straightened and got to his feet. He stood there, watching me. We probably stared at each other for a thousand years. Him, proudly displaying his beautiful body, and me, shyly trying to cover my sickly thin one. 

"You know..." He stepped gracefully towards me. I looked meekly at the floor when he came closer. Piccolo didn't raise my chin with his hand like I expected he would. Instead, to my complete and utter surprise, he knelt down and gazed up at me. Even while kneeling, he came practically to eye level. "You always say I need to stop hiding what I keep inside, and yet you hide what you keep outside. You're worried that I won't like what I see...afraid that what you have to offer will turn me away. You don't want to show too much of yourself because you think I'll judge you the wrong way." 

If I wasn't frozen to the spot, my jaw would've hit the floor. In just a few sentences Piccolo had figured out exactly what I was feeling. He knew because those same fears kept his emotions, thoughts and hopes locked in a prison behind his smoldering eyes. Though he had no solid knowledge about love, he'd just taught me more about it than anyone else ever had. And I realized that he and I were a million times more alike than I previously thought. 

"That's...exactly how I feel." Tears forced my voice small. A few escaped, burning on their descent. 

Piccolo leaned up and tenderly kissed the tears from my cheeks, "Then stop hiding yourself from me." He encircled my tiny wrists in his strong, tapered fingers and gently unclasped my hands from my shoulders. I let them fall to my sides. His open hands came up level up to my neck and moved in opposite directions, sweeping the shroud of hair aside and behind my arms. 

I closed my eyes and inhaled as the silky locks slid away to expose me completely. Gentle fingers explored the newly naked skin. Probing, rubbing and kneading...no area escaped his notice. I don't think he ever realized how much his touch excited me. Everywhere his hands went, fire trailed behind them. Flames of passion and desire. I felt his careful hands sculpting me into the woman I was meant to be. 

This was only the beginning of the most erotic experience I'll ever have in my life. 

When I dared to look again, I found Piccolo staring up at my face with heavily-lidded eyes. For the first time in my life, I saw love in those granite orbs. The perpetual storm blowing through them had dissipated enough to let the sun shine. 

Unable to contain myself, I pulled Piccolo to my chest and hugged him tightly. I cupped the back of his bald head in my palm. Kissed the half-healed bruise I inflicted earlier. "I love you." 

"Me too." Piccolo stood up, sweeping into his arms for another surprise smooch. Then he deposited me on the bouncy bed, smirking evilly. "Now tell me if this seems familiar to you." 

Just like in my nearly-forgotten dream, he climbed on near my feet and crawled forward until we were face to face. Every muscle under his skin rippled in delicious tandem, he moved just like a panther on the prowl. I parted my legs for him and draped them over his narrow hips. Not once did we break eye-contact. 

I grinned teasingly at him, "Oh yes, very familiar..." 

Piccolo said nothing more as he loomed above me, licking his curvaceous lips. I felt his arousal press against mine. He leaned down and opened his mouth slightly. We touched lips, but didn't kiss. With our faces less than an inch apart, we hungrily breathed each others' hot breath. Exchanged the most basic substance that gave us life. In a few moments he and I were breathing in the same rhythm, sending twin columns of silent pleas billowing into the air. Even Piccolo's breath was powerful, and won the duel with mine. Then he closed his eyes and turned his head from side to side, caressing my mouth with his lips. I became acutely aware of his textured nakedness pressed against mine. He was so strong, yet fragile. I wanted to hold him forever. 

Immense pressure grew between my legs. I arched towards it, trembling as he closed the last distance separating us and made our two bodies into one. A strangled cry escaped us both, mine a soft soprano whine that harmonized with his deep bass rumble. He filled me so completely that my passage barely contained him. His forceful pulse throbbed inside me, not quite matching mine. 

"Close your eyes," he whispered. 

"But I want to see you!" 

Piccolo smiled softly. "You will, Cyndi...trust me. Open your mind and concentrate." 

The Namek's warm face drew closer. His slightly chapped lips covered mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let my eyelids drift shut, losing myself in his kiss.   
  


The soft sands of my dreamscape beach greeted me. I opened my eyes and saw Piccolo above me...and his _entire body_ was made of ice. He was transparent and cold to the touch, but his flesh still felt like skin. A single ball of fire burned in his chest where his heart belonged...a piece of me. I saw my reflection in his eyes...my body had become fire! I mean, I glowed orange and flames leapt from where my hair should've been! A cold sensation in my chest told me I had a ball of ice where my heart existed...a piece of him. 

I became dimly aware of Piccolo moving, thrusting his length deep into me. The entire sky - the moon and stars - brightened, reacting to his movements. Beneath my body, the earth reacted to me. The sand churned and the water lapped at our feet. In the sky above us I saw images of our bodies moving against each other. Like Yin and Yang - opposite and alike. 

Piccolo lifted himself, pulling me with him. We left the ground during the next thrust. He bent over me while I arched my back like a ballet dancer. Gentle lips grazed my throat, tasting me. I smiled and nuzzled my cheek against his ear. 

"Oh!" I arched against his hips again and again. He answered my moan by encircling me in his arms. The flames surrounding me grew hotter - the ice surrounding him froze deeper. His chill seeped into my bones. Into my soul. My body ached for a completion still far in the future. I sank against him, arms around his neck, my hips rising to meet his and my feet pushing him in harder. 

Piccolo seemed as frantic as I for completion. He wouldn't stop kissing my neck and cheeks...nor did I object. The soft tickle of his lips even made me giggle a little. I just wish I could've reacted more, but I had to hold onto him. My hands had little room for movement. The sensations he sent through me were too overpowering, clinging to his neck was all I could manage. Such delicious torture! 

As our bodies rocked in the air between earth and sky, I realized I couldn't have moved if I wanted to. My flaming body was merging with Piccolo's icy one! No, I mean it! The stronger our sensations became, the more we melted together. I found myself yearning to touch the ball of flame in his chest...just as he desired the ice in mine. 

The arms around me fused into my back. I felt mine fuse with his neck. When Piccolo kissed me again, our faces distorted like two pieces of melted solder joining in the middle. I hoped he felt the column of warmth jetting down his throat...because I sure felt the pillar of ice shooting down mine. We were bound from the chest down. I sensed our legs fusing. Sensations like I've never experienced shot up through me. Piccolo's chill was creeping closer to the frozen ball deep inside me. I grew aware that I neared the flames glowing in him. We could no longer move, yet I was still aware of his physical body making love to me. He was thrusting faster, deeper, driving me gradually towards climax. 

I gasped, face literally burning, "Piccolo...oh God...what's happening?" 

"Shhh...just feel." Piccolo quieted me without explaining. Iron control kept his voice perfectly steady, though I knew he was about to lose himself. 

Then it happened. 

Time as I knew it froze. 

A line of flames shot up and contacted the fiery ball in Piccolo's chest. He emitted a low, deep moan. I felt a chill punch through my depths and shoot up to touch the frozen ball within me. I wailed in surprise. 

Electrical bolts shot between us, drawing our bodies together. The merger completed itself...my fire and his ice. An immense flash from our center lit up the world. Our combined forms transformed. From red fire and blue ice, we became a ball of purple lightning that melted the sky and earth into one. 

Intense sensations! An orgasm like nothing I'll ever feel again plowed through me. The universe blazed in sparkling clarity. I felt Piccolo all around and inside me. 

Piccolo's memories and knowledge spiraled through my head. I experienced every part of his life, some happy and some he probably wasn't proud of...there were even bits of Nail and Kami. I felt everything Piccolo did, including an acute awareness that he loved me. Love to Piccolo was like a computer to someone who never saw one before - he knew it was there, but didn't know what to do with it. 

And I didn't judge him. Not once. Not ever. In that moment, when I saw deep into the doors he'd thrown wide open, I loved him more than I ever did before. 

Then my memories and feelings slowly downloaded into the swirl. All of my triumphs, failures, fears, hopes and love were laid bare for him. Through me, Piccolo learned what it was like to think with an autistic mind. I showed him how difficult concentrating on any one thing was for me. I gave him everything I loved, feared and desired. He even heard my church choir somewhere in the wonderful madness. 

All at once, it was over. The intense feelings gradually left me. I saw my flaming hands and the dark night sky above me once again. The earth stopped quaking. The sky dimmed to normal. Behind me, an icy form floated, smiling. The fiery ball no longer existed in his chest, and the icy one was gone from mine. 

We'd passed completely through each other. In doing so, we completed ourselves. I mean...I felt whole. So whole and alive! 

And I missed Piccolo already. 

Reaching out, I sought his arms. Piccolo took my hands and drew me closer. His cool soothed my heat. My heat eased his chill. 

Together, we drifted back to the ground.   
  


Piccolo gently ended our kiss. I opened my eyes to find him hovering above me, breathing hard, once again his correct emerald color. We were back in the bed, back in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber...back in Reality. I could still feel Piccolo even though we'd left the dreamscape. Whatever part of himself he left inside me was still there. 

I gazed up into a pair of stern, dark eyes filled with new understanding. The storm clouds were returning to shroud the sun, but not without releasing two clear raindrops that landed on my cheeks. My own tears joined his. Twin pools formed. My tongue removed one and his removed the other. I leaned up and kissed his moist eyelids. 

Now I had to say something...silence does get weird after a time. 

"Well..." I panted slowly, still breathless. "...I think I liked that version of the Fusion Dance. How about you?" 

Piccolo glared at me. A playful glare. "It was the longest dance I ever did, but it was worth it." 

"Good! You know, you're pretty light on your feet when you want to be." I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him again. His pulse still throbbed inside me, though fainter as his arousal softened. I tightened my hold when he started shifting. Being the stronger one, Piccolo easily broke my hold just long enough to turn over onto his back. That left me draped across his broad chest. I felt my long hair swish down over my back like a blanket that kept me warm. Tapered fingers gently combed through it, relaxing me. 

"Feh," Piccolo snorted at my comment. He didn't seem the least bit tired after our intense activity. I wish I could say the same about myself. I mean...I really wanted to talk more with him. Few can ever get more than two words out of the guy. But I was so exhausted, and Piccolo's sexy muscles made nice, firm pillows. I laid my head against his shoulder and fell asleep without meaning to, sprawled comfortably across his heaving chest like a lazy cat. 

Nothing would ever be the same between us after that night. 


	7. Part Six

Self-insertion, violence, adult language and nudity warning.   
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Six

  
  
  
  


I stood alone in my room, preparing to watch one of my DBZ tapes. I chose the tape containing the episode where Piccolo and Kami fused. With a bottled water in hand, I stretched out on the bed and watched the flickering screen. How odd! The images seemed so vague! I know the tape is new...so why are the images all shimmering? 

The funny thing about dreams is you don't always realize you're dreaming when it's happening. I didn't know it yet, but this was one of those instances. 

Background sounds became less detailed. I didn't feel the mattress under me. Everything I saw seemed further away than usual. Not once did I consider this abnormal, I'd gotten too wrapped up in watching Kami glow a violent white hue on TV. 

Suddenly the entire house started shaking around me, I could hear the sounds of glass breaking. The Godzilla figurines I keep on my bookcase all fell over. My Piccolo action figure toppled onto its face on the nightstand. The priceless items on my dresser threatened to shatter. My stereo rattled loose and came dangerously close to dropping off the computer desk. The ceiling fan above me shuddered violently. It came loose and fell right at me in a shower of sparks! I'd have been killed if the wires didn't stop it just inches from my head! Fortunately, it swing harmlessly to the side before the wires broke...and smashed my computer monitor to bits. 

Dammit, no! 

Then the wall behind my entertainment center exploded. 

Half-deafened, I crossed my arms in an X in front of my face to block the debris. Metal, glass, plastic, stucco and wood blasted my arms. Ugh, that hurt! Before I could recover, Void sprang through the settling dust. Her massive armored body slammed me through the wall behind my bed. It felt like being hit in the chest by a seven-forty-seven. I crashed through the holly plant in the front yard(ouch!) and landed on my back, Void's weight pinning me. 

"AAAAH!!!" 

Void laughed, silver eyes filled with hateful mirth. The frightening first-form Cell look-alike towered above me, a nine foot, nine inch tall nightmare creature covered in matte black armor-flesh. Dark gray patterns like the sun reflecting off water danced over her skin, making her look eerie. "How does it feel to be weak, Cyndi?" 

Weak?! WEAK!? I'll show her weak! 

I gritted my teeth and focused on my energy. If I Believed hard enough, I could channel ki without the necklace. Having Void taunt me while I was trying to concentrate didn't help matters any. 

Prickly heat gathered in the pit of my stomach. Okay...now just draw it out. Relax. Tune that shadowy bitch out and focus. Just focus and Believe. 

"You'll never beat me here. All the universe's dreams will belong to me. The more dreams I destroy, the stronger I become. BWA HA HA HA! Isn't it exhilarating?!" 

Focus. 

She chuckled. Dark energy gathered around her left fist. A black palm aimed for my face, but I felt no heat from the ki...only wind. 

FOCUS! 

"Grrr...Well you'll never have _my_ dreams...and I promise you'll be stopped. I PROMISE!!! **_NOW...EAT MY SHIT!!!_**" I pushed ki right up through my belly button. A white energy dome blasted forth, throwing Void straight up off me. Not caring which direction she'd gone, I sat up to get my bearings. I didn't have long...but I had to act. I dove back into the house and darted into my mom's room. The ceiling fan in there was still intact, though cracks marred the plaster around it. For some odd reason I was drawn to the blue and white dream catcher hanging from one of the fan's chains. It was bigger than the one I'd given to Piccolo - his was one of those small ones that people hang up in their car, where as my mom's was as big as a saucer. 

Void's black form crashed through the ceiling just as I was reaching for the dream catcher. I ripped the chain right off the fan and covered my head. Debris rained down around me. Then a vicious being filled my sight. 

I panicked. Terror overtook me - no matter how much training I get, I still forget everything I've learned when I'm terrified. 

"Get away from me!" I scooted back two steps. Then my mom's dresser stopped me. The bathroom was off to my right and behind me. Straight across from the bathroom door was another door leading into a laundry room(sans the washer/dryer set), and beyond that was the back door. It was open. If I can just get to it I might have a chance... 

Void swished her sinewy, stinger-tipped tail. "Why do you insist on fighting me when you know you'll lose? Please, enlighten me, I like to know what my victims think before I destroy them..." 

"Screw you." Except I used a word much worse than 'screw'. I edged my thin leg around the corner of the bed, watching Void's every move. 

She laughed at me, wiggling her long fingers, "Ooh, that's filthy language for a such a nice young lady..." 

"You'd be surprised at how vulgar I can get." I felt a backbone growing...or maybe the fear was letting up a little. Either way, my tongue was loose again and my throat didn't seem quite so tight. At least I could swallow without choking. I just wish my heart would quit fluttering. "I'd make my dad blush and he's proficient at swearing himself. Just ask my computer, it's absorbed a lot of my cussing." I edged sideways a little more. Hoping she didn't notice my baby steps. "Heh...how about you?" Another baby step, I'd moved a grand total of once inch. 

"What do you think? Are you terrified now, human? Your little heart is just beating away a mile a minute. I know...I can hear it," Void's gutteral voice hissed through my ears, making the hollow muscle in my chest triple its cadence. "Fear...it smells absolutely delicious!" She crept closer to me. I really don't know how to explain the way her presence felt. It was like a dark coldness oozing off her skin to strangle my senses. It made me feel nauseous, as if the darkness was threatening to consume me. The feeling would abate whenever I thought of something positive...like loving Piccolo. 

_Piccolo...help me. She has me cornered...I don't think I can escape! I'm scared and I need you!_

Movement in the hallway caught my attention. Something green...my salvation! I dared not look for fear of giving the new presence away, but I forgot about the mirror above my mom's dresser. Void's eyes drifted to the reflective surface and narrowed. 

"You!" 

The tall, black creature's attention started to shift. 

"Run, Cyndi! Get out of here!" Piccolo's voice boomed into the room. 

"But, Piccolo!" 

"**_GO!_**" 

Void whirled around just in time to be speared Goldberg-style by Piccolo. The noise of the impact was deafening. Ouch, that had to hurt Piccolo as much as Void. Had I not side-stepped when I did, they'd have squashed me into the dresser(which was smashed into a million pieces on contact)! 

Despite Piccolo's order to run, I was rooted to the spot. Pieces of wood and bits of my mom's clothing pooled around my ankles. 

While Piccolo recovered from his attack, Void picked him up by the neck. She swung him in a big loop and slammed him into the bed. Stuffing, fabric and springs flew everywhere. Piccolo struggled in the mess, hopelessly tangled, and Void's ki was rising! Piccolo would be toast if I didn't do something fast. 

"NOOOO!" I raced forward, pathetically. Grabbed Void's tail in a bear hug with both arms. As if that would stop her! Need I mention her tail was as big around as a small tree and my arms barely fit all the way around?! 

The muscular appendage promptly elevated and slammed me into the floor. I landed on my back with the dream catcher on my chest. By this time most of the dream had faded from my awareness. Only hazy details remained. Colors blurred and melted together. Or maybe I was just dazed from being treated like a crash test dummy. 

I looked up and saw Void heading for Piccolo again. Why was he still trapped? Wait! _She_ was keeping him tangled! 

"Piccolo!" 

"You're mine now!" Cold laughter clamored in the silence. 

"No! I'll kill you if you hurt him!" I grabbed Void's rubbery tail between my arms and legs again, hugging it with all my might, the base of its dangerous stinger pressed against my cheek. The more I distracted her, the more time Piccolo had to free himself. 

This time, Void screamed in obvious pain. My ears sensed a sizzling noise like meat cooking and I could smell burning flesh. Then I was flung into the broken mattress with Piccolo. Sharp metal edges sliced my skin like a dozen cats scratching me all at once. I also wound up biting my tongue on impact, filling my mouth with a coppery taste. I didn't realize until then that I didn't have a shred of clothing on my body...and neither did the green man I just landed on. 

"Oof!" 

"Omf! Owww...dammit, I just bit my tongue!" 

"ARRRRGH! Look at what you did to my beautiful tail! You'll pay for that with your lives!" Void thrashed around, clutching her tail. She removed her hands to examine the wound. It was smoking, obviously burned. I saw a raised gray burn pattern identical to the delicate central weave of the dream catcher. 

Piccolo and I gawked at each other. At the same time we both gasped, "Did you see that?!" 

"Yeah, I did," Piccolo frowned deeply. 

I pulled my arms and legs free. The cuts stung a little and I felt a few strands of tangled hair being yanked out by the roots. I reached for the barely-visible dream catcher on the floor. New hope bubbled up within me. Maybe I could beat her! "I'm going for it!" 

Piccolo wrenched an arm free of the metal springs. "Cyndi! Wait!" 

I ignored him. Discovering I could hurt Void gave my ego a boost, why should I have to listen to Piccolo? 

Void was still doubled over her tail, recovering. With her back to me, I saw that she had "wings" just like Cell. Perfect! 

Behind me, Piccolo jerked around like mad, trying to free himself. He kept yelling at me to stop and wait. But why wait? I had an opening and I was gonna take it! 

I used the few intact springs on the bed like a trampoline. Bouncing three times for momentum, I launched myself at her armored back. Wrapped my legs around the cold, metallic wing-plates and hung on for dear life! "Ride 'em cowgirl, YEEHAW!" Before I could press my new weapon against her head, she flung me onto the floor. 

**Buh-bang!** Ow, my knees felt that one! 

Now I was trapped under a massive black foot pressed against my breastbone. 

"Heheheh...you're in trouble now!" Void grinned malevolently, laughing at my predicament. "Don't try your little trick on my legs, they're more armored than my tail." 

Great...and that's exactly what I planned on attacking too! 

But then I saw a better target. 

Raising my arm, I shoved the dream catcher against Void's crotch. I might as well have made her hump a hot burner - the effect was exactly the same. 

Void's eyes bulged. Her toes gripped my neck like a fist. Then she screamed in agony and whipped me back into the broken springs with Piccolo. Okay, Piccolo is comfortable to lay on, but running into him full speed is like hitting a brick wall. 

Add more bruises to my list of injuries. 

"You fool!" Piccolo snarled, one eye shut in pain. 

"Don't you see?! The dream catcher hurts her like a Cross hurts vampires! I can beat her if I can just - " 

He bared his amazing teeth at me, fangs gleaming dangerously. "Just nothing! We're getting out of this dream! Now sit tight and focus on waking up!"   
  


Awareness snapped back into focus. I jerked my head up. Piccolo's eyes flew open and fixed angrily on mine. I was still sprawled across his chest, but all our shifting during sleep had tangled us both in the sheets. If the situation wasn't so serious and nobody was in pain, I would've enjoyed our predicament. Who wouldn't want to be trapped in bed on top of a sexy, sweaty and naked Namek? 

Damn important discoveries...they always come at the worst times. Now I wouldn't be able to cuddle with Piccolo and talk about our amazing lovemaking experience. 

"Stop squirming, you're just making it worse!" Piccolo pulled an arm free and pinned me hard against his muscular torso. I'd forgotten that we were still 'attached' and my movements were having interesting effects on him. 

"Oh...sorry." I laid my head down again while he shifted around underneath me. That hypocrite, all HIS wiggling was making ME shiver! 

Piccolo pulled his leg out from under me. A limb now freed, he pushed the sheets down with his other foot. Then he grasped my hips with strong hands, lifting me gently away from his narrow pelvis. I sat up and promptly shoved the rest of the blankets right off the mattress. 

"Finally!" I collapsed against Piccolo's chest and sighed. Almost on their own accord, my fingers traced his prominent collarbones. 

He grabbed my wrists, making the blood-beaded scrapes on them burn, "Stop it, this is not the time." 

"It's not my fault you're so damn irresistible." I bent over to nip his pointed chin, "The universe shook when you made love to me. How many women can say their man did that for them?" 

"Hey, that wasn't all _my_ doing." Piccolo allowed himself a minuscule smirk. His eyes gleamed roguishly in the shadows of his pronounced brow-ridges. Then he switched gears and hardened his expression, and nothing I did would change his demeanor. The steel doors were shut again. He was all business. "Now get off me so I can put some pants on. You go do the same, and get cleaned up while you're at it." 

"Right." I climbed off his stomach and glanced back, hoping I'd catch a glimpse of his cute ding-dong. Piccolo is a grower, when limp his male unit looks all tiny and wrinkled...I could cover it with one hand. But when it stands up, _yikes_...it inflates to at least six inches and could probably hold up a ten ton weight without being pulled down. No, I'm serious! One of these days, I swear I'm going to yank his pants off and play with him just so I can watch it grow. 

Alas, Piccolo's broad back was already presented my way. No peep show for me. I got an eyeful of his nice, tight butt just before he pulled his baggy leggings up. His muscles shifted like metal under his green skin. If I was in the Anime half of the room, I probably would have gotten a nosebleed. 

Damn, that Namek is sexy as hell. Inside and out. 

Piccolo glared over his shoulder at me with one narrowed eye. A cold look that sent me scurrying for the bathroom to clean up and get dressed. I didn't really feel nervous until I finally got my mind off Piccolo's shlong and started attending my wounds. 

_Void attacked my dreams two times in a row. How do I know she won't be waiting in my next nightmare? And the one after that? Will the dream catcher hurt her next time? What if she's like the Borg and adapts to attacks so they're harmless the next time they're used?_ I shivered uneasily and pulled my shirt on. I slid my pants up to my knees, sat down on the toilet and relieved myself. Fear, nature's best laxative. Too bad it didn't smell pleasant. For me, sitting on the pot is the best place to think. I was doing a lot of that at the moment. _How do I know she hasn't gotten my parents...and will I ever sleep peacefully again after this is over? Can I be sure she'll be gone from everyone's nightmares for good when we beat her? What if we don't, then what happens?_ I tightened my fists on my knees and glared at the wall across from me. If I didn't win this fight, I'd lose Piccolo and everyone else I cared for. Without dreams, the world might as well be populated by zombies with no desire to better themselves._ No! I can't lose, there's too much at stake!_

A silhouette appeared on the diaphanous curtain that served as a door. I heard a deep, growling voice shout, "Hey, are you dead in there? Cleaning wounds and getting dressed doesn't take this long!" 

I pulled the curtain aside just enough to peek out. In doing so I also let the smell waft out into the air. "Excuse me, but I'm going to the bathroom here. Do you mind?!" 

Piccolo blinked, sniffed the air and covered his nose. "What in the seven levels of HELL is that smell?!" 

Yanking the curtain back into place, I snorted, "It's called shit, Piccolo. Bowel movement. Feces. Poop. Stools. Solid waste. It smells because it's WASTE material from food my body has used up. If you're flesh like now, you'd probably have to do the same thing a few days after you eat something. Now can I please have a moment's privacy?!" 

Silence. The shadow retreated from the curtain and gave me the ten minutes I needed to finish up. I wiped off, flushed the toilet twice and drew aside the curtain. Geez, I made a stinky. You know it's bad if you can smell it yourself and be grossed out. That's it, I'm never eating Bulma's chili-pasta again! 

Geez, I'm such a weirdo. I don't react to my emotions like normal people do, and it's one thing about me that people never seem to understand. If I have a lot on my mind...like I did then...I may "wait" until all is clear in my head before dealing with the next feeling. Which is why I putzed around before feeling scared. I guess you could call it a mental defense mechanism. 

Fear was creeping up on me. Like a caterpillar slithering its way up my spine and wrapping around my brain. 

I didn't want to bother Piccolo, who was sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed in the Anime half of the room. He'd fully dressed himself again - majestic cape and all. 

Great, I'm finally ready to discuss our little scuffle with Void and he's meditating! That figures! 

I went for my backpack instead, since Piccolo was momentarily occupied. Poofed it into existence to grab my discman, the mini-stereo speakers and my _Timespace: The Best Of Stevie Nicks_ CD. Sometimes listening to music calms me down...or at least gets my mind off the problem. I settled the little speakers down in front of my knees, turned on the CD player and switched to song number six. The beautiful chords of Stevie's song _Beauty and the Beast_ drifted into the air. I kept the volume low, but the acoustics of the room still amplified the music. Wow, natural surround-sound! 

As the music swirled around me, I stared over at Piccolo. This song sounded so much like it was about him. I wound up singing along, softly so he wouldn't hear me...well he probably could with those sharp ears of his. I didn't care, I was in my safe little world. "_You're not a stranger to me...and you, well you're something to see. You don't even know how to please. You say a lot, but you're unaware...how to leave. My darling...lives in a world that is not mine. An old child...misunderstood...out of time. Timeless is the creature who is wise. And timeless is the prisoner in disguise. Ohhh who is the beauty...who the beast? Would you die...of grieving...when I leave? Two children, too blind, to see... I would fall in your shadow...I believe..... My love is a man who's not been tamed. Ohhh my love lives in a world of false pleasure and pain. We come from different worlds, but we are the same. I never doubted your beauty...I've changed.... I never doubted your beauty....I've changed! Changed... Who is the beauty? Where is my beast? There is no beauty...without my beast... who is the beauty? Who.... oooh la bete....la bete.... Where is my beast? My beauty...my beauty... My beautiful...beautiful...beautiful...beautiful....beast._" 

Suddenly I choked up and turned off the music. Sometimes the song makes me cry, but I doubt Stevie's smoky alto voice did it to me this time. I was scared to death that I'd lose Piccolo. I was afraid that Void would leap from nowhere and rip him from my life. 

Only one safe place existed. One place in the whole universe where nothing evil could touch me. 

Without a word, I walked over and curled up in Piccolo's lap. I hid my face in his heaving chest and wept silently against his heartbeat. Piccolo quietly tolerated my momentary breakdown. I felt his strong arms wrap around me and instantly felt safer. Piccolo's arms were like armor for my heart, they kept me warm, safe and mentally sane. 

"Hey, settle down." He said gently against my wild hair. "I'm sure your ego is pretty sore right now. Let's hope you learn from this pain and think before you act next time." 

I didn't dare speak until I trusted my voice to remain steady. "It's not that...I just...got scared. I'm afraid Void will come running up at any time and destroy you right in front of me." 

Piccolo's chest hitched, a soft chuckle. "Don't worry about me, Cyndi. I can take care of myself. You need to worry about yourself and your training." 

There was my tail again. It wrapped itself around Piccolo's left wrist. Argh, I'd forgotten my body would change when I switched Realities. 

_I just hope six months of training will be enough..._

The voice sounded so clear I could've sworn I heard it. Thinking I really did, I answered, "I think six months will be enough. It took about that long last time, remember?" 

Piccolo gawked at me, "I...I didn't say that out loud. How did you hear what I was thinking?" 

"I thought you were talking to me!" I picked my head up and stared at Piccolo's angular green face. His eyes were like saucers, haunted. I decided to try something. _Um...hello?_

"I don't believe this..." I've never seen Piccolo get excited before(aside from the fusion with Nail), but I did that day. He jumped to his feet and lifted me over his head by the armpits. A huge smile broke his normally stoic face. A smile so big I saw his fangs. "I think we've actually done it! Our activity last night must have done something to our minds! This will make our training that much easier, Cyndi! Do you know what this means?" 

I hung onto Piccolo's wrists while the rest of me dangled. Except for the tail, of course. The way it wagged made me look like a happy puppy. "Our minds are attuned?" 

"Exactly," He came to his senses and lowered me, not at all embarrassed at his sudden outburst. Maybe he'd finally learned that he can act however he wants around me and I won't judge him for it. "If we can learn to think as one, we'll overpower Void. It'll be intense training, kid, but I know you can take it." 

I made a fist and flexed my bicep muscle, "Whatever it takes to win!" 

Piccolo blinked, then uncrossed his arms. "Good, with an attitude like that, you just might make it. Oh yeah..." He produced a Hershey's bar from his belt and tossed it to me, "I decided to give you a little break. Call it a reward for being a good student. Enjoy it, you won't taste another until Void is defeated." The Namek then sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes. 

"Ch-ch-chocolaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate!" My eyes glowed as I caught the delicious candy bar. To me, it was a block of gold. I eagerly tore a corner of the wrapper open and broke off two squares. "Hey, Piccolo...ever try chocolate before?" 

Piccolo opened one eye, "I don't eat." 

"Not even to taste?" 

"I don't have taste buds, Cyndi...at least not in my world." He smirked a little, "Maybe that's a good thing. From what I've heard, Senzu beans taste pretty bad." 

"They're okay, I guess." I gave up on coaxing him into tasting the delicious treat. The sweet, intoxicating aroma of my chocolate called out to me. I stuffed the first square into my mouth. It was like taking a drug I'd been denied for way too long. My tongue rolled in delight. I rocked on my feet. Mmm, if sex was food, it would be chocolate. "Mmmmmmmm! This is Heaven! Mmmm, yummmmmy! Mmm yes!" I lost myself in rich, milk chocolate bliss as I let the tiny piece melt on my tongue. 

Wait. 

I snapped myself out of it. If I ate this entire candy bar, I'd be unraveling every bit of strength Piccolo gave me. Had Void attacked me like she did before I learned to resist temptation.....well I don't want to think about what she could've done. 

"No, I can't eat all of this." I told myself aloud. My entire body and mind protested to the refusal. I had to force my fingers to fold the wrapper back over the rest of the Hershey bar. I needed to be the best I could be. I can't do that if I give in to my cravings like a sissy. 

I know I've made dumb decisions in the past. Most of the time I don't have my priorities straight. But this...I couldn't wreck myself now! If I let myself eat that chocolate, I'd prove how weak I was. No, I can't afford to take three steps back in this game! 

Nothing mattered more to me than being stronger. I had to be faster, smarter and better than everyone else. I _hungered_ for it. Probably the Saiyajin instinct kicking in. 

"Piccolo...I'll save the rest of this candy bar for _after_ we've handed Void's ass to her. You have no idea how hard this is for me...if I give in now it might ruin everything you've taught me." I felt both grown-up and childish at the same time. Adult because I was admitting something and childish because of what I was confessing. I walked over and tucked the candy bar back into his blue belt. "I think you should keep it until then, or else I'll be seriously tempted." 

The Namek glanced up at me. He looked proud.....I think this was more of a test than a reward. That tricky bastard. 

"When we beat Void, it's yours." Piccolo tucked the brown and silver object the rest of the way into his belt. "Since when did you get so tough?" 

"Since I met you." Geez, that was corny. I could say FUNimation made me do it, but then I'd be lying. They'd make me say something completely stupid and unnatural like 'yeah, baby, it was all you!'. Ugh. 

I chuckled to myself. "Hey, Piccolo?" 

"Yeah?" 

I hopped from foot to foot, fists up like a boxer. This was definitely the Saiyajin blood talking, but I felt it was time to test my powers. "Whaddya say we go spar for old time's sake? It's been a long time and I wanna see how strong I really am in this form. Maybe then I'll finally understand why Vegeta acts like he does." 

Piccolo's mouth curved up into a smirk so huge it nearly reached his earlobe. Like he wanted to do this and was just waiting for me to suggest it. "Okay, kid, you asked for it. Meet me out in the white void and let's see what you've got. You've gotten pathetically out of shape since you were last out here, so I wouldn't be too surprised if you don't last long." 

"Wanna make a bet?" 

"I don't bet. I play to _win_." 

With that, Piccolo uncurled from the floor and walked out into the whiteness. 


	8. Part Seven

Self-insertion, language and violence warning.   
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Seven

  
  
  
  


Piccolo's cape-festooned back moved further away from me. The majestic white material swished like liquid as he walked without a sound. He didn't even bother to look over his shoulder. 

Cool, 'cause I'm gonna get him good this time. 

_Let's see now, it's been a long time since I've even flown. I wonder if I still remember how...I'll give it a shot! Now I just need some fairy dust laced with ki and a lot of happy thoughts..._

Closing my eyes, I focused on pushing my energy into the floor. I needed a cushion of ki strong enough to lift me. Heheh, I could feel it building like a swelling in the pit of my stomach. Now I just had to concentrate on drawing it out from the center. 

Before I knew it, I felt lighter. The ground disappeared from underneath me. 

_Well, whaddya' know...I've still got it!_

"WAHAHA!!!" I burst out laughing. By pushing the stream of ki back like a rocket engine, I shot forward towards Piccolo's   
back. I snatched the turban right off his head on the way by. It weighed little more than schoolbooks to me in this form. "Nyah, nyah! Come and get me if you want your turban back!" I put the too-large turban on my head, held it down with one hand and flew off, laughing. The gravity in the white void dragged me down a little, but I managed to compensate. 

Piccolo grabbed his bald head and discovered his turban missing. "What the?! Hey!" He blasted after me, hot on my heels. Damn, that Namek is fast! In two seconds he was on top of me! 

Piccolo grabbed for his stolen property. I veered left, barely dodging him. He blurred from view and reappeared in my path. I ducked below him. Flew up behind his legs and slapped his butt. 

A little too cocky. Stupid! 

I was on the ground before I even knew what happened. Turns out Piccolo had backflipped and planted both feet in my spine. He was still standing on my back, arms crossed and smirking at me. 

Just to give you an idea on how small I am and how big Piccolo's feet are...his toes touched the tops of my shoulderblades and his heels dug against the base of my spine. Even together, big toe to big toe on my spine, the widest part of his feet spanned the width of my shoulders. And his weight had me pretty well pinned down. The stronger gravity didn't help matters any...thank God he wore those soft shoes that let his feet mold to my back or I'd be crushed! 

While I laid there with my tongue out and spirals for eyes, Piccolo rescued his turban. He settled it onto its rightful place, frowning down at me, "Your speed is pretty good, but you must keep your eye on your opponent at all times. Otherwise you're just asking to get pummeled. If this was a real fight, you'd be dead right now." 

"Right...I hear ya." I reached back, grabbed his pant-legs and tried to yank him off. 

Well...I didn't make him fall, but I succeeded in making him move. 

He stepped forward and stopped with one foot on my head. 

His weight crushed my cheek harder against the glowing marble-like floor. Then he backed across me and stood squarely on my butt. Crude, but effective, I couldn't get leverage to push myself up without snapping my spine. All I could do was pray that he didn't decide to step on my tail next. 

".....owwwww! Gee, thanks. Now I smell like your stinky shoes." 

Piccolo snickered at me, "Well, that's what you get for letting your opponent walk all over you. And by the way, my shoes don't stink. Your attitude does." 

"Shut up!" I would've laughed if I wasn't so determined to be stronger. I focused on the energy deep in my center. Brought it out slowly, like in my dream. 

Piccolo stood there while I concentrated. Probably waiting to see what I was going to do. Well, he was in for a surprise! 

Growling, I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath. The hot tingling in the pit of my stomach increased. I drew it towards my spine. Sweat broke out all over me from the effort. It was like flexing a muscle and my entire body was the muscle being flexed. Part of me was so tired of powering up that I nearly threw in the towel. 

But I'm not a quitter. 

"Piccolo?" I panted. 

Piccolo gazed down at me, "Give up already?" 

"No, I just wanted to say..." I released the ki I'd so carefully gathered in one gigantic shockwave. "GET OFF ME!" 

"OOF!" Piccolo went flying straight up and landed on his butt behind me. I rolled to my feet and faced him with my fists up, bouncing slightly and tail wagging. Waiting for his next move. 

I used to hate sparring. Now I was enjoying it! I could go to Disneyland or Magic Mountain and get the same thrill. I wanted to see blood, bruises and mayhem. No...I wanted to _cause _it! 

Piccolo climbed gracefully back to his feet and watched me hop in place. "Oh I see...you want to go all out, don't you? Well, start powering up or you'll be eating the floor again in less than a minute." He smirked at me and removed his turban. Then the heavy shoulderpads came off, taking his cape with it. Both shook the ground on impact. Piccolo cracked his neck and knuckles as if enjoying his new freedom. 

"What about you? Aren't you going to power up?" 

"Feh." He chuckled and assumed his graceful fighting stance, a faint aura wafting around him. "I will when I see how strong you are, first." 

_Your ass is mine!_ I thought to myself. Widening my stance, I relaxed and let the energy inside me bubble up. It oozed through every pore like steam from boiling water. I felt like I was sinking into a hot bath with the warm water creeping its way up my body. 

But Piccolo wouldn't be patient with a slow power-up. 

Ever wonder why people scream when they power up? Same reason that some pregnant women in labor moan and scream even though they have an epidural. Every fiber in their being is intent on pushing the baby out. Just like every fiber in my being was intent on bringing the energy out. 

I hunkered down and screamed my head off while pushing upwards with all my might. I could feel my ki ready to overflow, just a little more! 

Whoosh! 

My long hair blew straight up. A white aura snapped into being around me. Gravity distorted. Senses heightened. What little muscles I had flexed and hardened. Veins dilated to keep up with the power flow. Powering up does get tiring, but once someone such as myself reaches the level they want, the energy is NOT being wasted. It's just "there" until used...I can't really explain it better than that. 

Now that I had all that power on the surface, I had to decide what I should do with it. Like clay, it could be molded to my will. Should I rush Piccolo and beat him into submission? Maybe I'll condense my energy into a ball and blast him. Or I can power down and walk off...but that would suck! Being this strong was thrilling, every fiber of my being literally vibrated. I wanted to see what I was _really_ capable of! 

"Well?" I growled, all efforts on keeping control of my ki. Sticking my hand out palm-up, I made a 'come here' gesture with my fingers and quoted The Rock, "Just bring it!" 

Piccolo shook his head. I waited, not daring to blink. Then it happened, he flat out rushed me. But I existed on a slightly higher plane now. With my heightened senses he appeared to move in slow motion. I quickly leapt over him...to the untrained eye I _appeared_ to blur in and out of view, but from my point of view it looked like a normal leap-frog move. Piccolo might have lost sight of me, but I knew he could still sense my ki. 

Suddenly, Piccolo vanished. One second he was there and then...he wasn't. 

I barely sensed him moving(sensing ki makes my ears ring, I hate it!), but his location was difficult to pinpoint. "Argh, where'd you get to?" 

"Look up, kid!" 

I flipped backwards twice at hyper speed. A good move - Piccolo narrowly missed kicking my head. I twirled forward, nailing his neck with a roundhouse. He caught my hair as I came around and flung me hard at the ground. I righted myself. Did a little bounce like Freeza and launched myself back at the green man. We went immediately into a rapid hit-and-block routine that echoed all throughout the area. 

Punch, kick, flip...block! Kick! Dodge the haymaker! Uppercut! Hair-pull. Knee to the gut, get up! Hair-pull, again! Block high, block low! Duck and twirl! Cartwheel right! Slap his face and back off! Fly higher! Spin again - move aside! Hair-pull. Knife-kick, left jab, block! Hip take-down! Pivot right! Drop left! Hair-pull and a kidney punch! Lean back, catch his fist! Toss! Backflip and breathe...and start all over again. 

Most of the blows were thrown by Piccolo, I did more blocking, dodging and getting hit. He had a graceful fighting rhythm that was just too damn fast - I couldn't find a good opening! Plus, he kept grabbing my hair every chance he got. Whenever he did that, I got punched, kicked or flung in a random direction. Grrrr!! 

WHAM!!! A fist came at my jaw. I twisted sideways so my shoulder took the impact. Then my hips rotated, letting a foot connect solidly with Piccolo's exposed side. We spun apart to regroup and went right back into our skirmish.   
  


Three hours later, we were still struggling against each other. I was wearing down fast, Piccolo always had way more endurance than me. My only hope was to put my all into every move and hope to knock him out before I got too tired. Everything went great! For a while I actually thought I'd win this one. That is...until Piccolo used an afterimage to confuse me. He appeared to go right and then ki-blasted me from the left. 

"Owwww! That burns!" 

"Feh, I've seen you take worse." Piccolo paused to catch his breath. He was in full battle mode with one antenna arched higher than the other and a cold gleam in his eyes. "Ready to quit yet?" 

I sneered and rushed him, "Never!" 

Piccolo dodged me easily. He always escapes! It's not fair! Frustration and exhaustion were setting in. Only one thing left to do - I charged blindly like an idiot. Piccolo's fist appeared out of nowhere. I saw it a second too late. 

**_BAM!!_** The impact reverberated off the ground. That punch must have totally deformed my face when it connected. I saw stars and my vision wavered. 

Piccolo was relentless. He brought his elbow down on my cranium. Dazed as I was, I just floated there and let him hit me. And stupidly forgot to anticipate just how much power he'd put into the blow. 

I ate the floor bigtime and laid there on my back. Dammit, a hit like that would've killed me if I was human! I felt like a pinball and Piccolo was the flipper. 

Piccolo wasn't letting up his assault. I saw him dropping down from directly overhead. It reminded me of the dream where Void was coming at me from above. 

And I got angry. 

I rolled aside. Did a quick kip up and faced Piccolo as he landed. My ki surged like fire around me, tangling my hair and rippling my clothes. I lost myself in the intoxicating power. I screamed until I thought my vocal cords would explode. The floor shook under my feet. Senses distorted and twisted. Muscles I didn't even know I had tightened. 

Suddenly the blank void was replaced by an intense thunderstorm that mirrored my inner anguish. I fed off its fury, drawing it into myself and making it into my power. And the whole time, Piccolo just stood there watching me in amusement. 

"Hey, kid," His deep voice rang in unison against the thunder, "You've gotta do better than that if you want to beat me in a spar." 

Oh that was it! He wanted better? Time to bring out my big gun! I'll show him what power is! Goku has his trademark _Kamehameha,_ Piccolo has his signature _Mankankosappo_...and I have this... 

With ki power boiling over, I held my tingling hands together, palm-up, in front of me. A tiny crimson sphere flickered into existence. It looked kind of like an atom with white electricity for the electron trails. I added energy and watched it inflate like a balloon. It made my palms ache...concentrating ki into a single point felt like lifting weights with tired muscles. I forced the sphere to grow the size of a softball. I took my hands away and grinned. The little ball floating in front of me contained enough energy to make the Shock and Awe attack against Iraq look like mere fireworks. 

Piccolo gawked at me. He knew exactly what I was doing. "Wait! Cyndi! You're - " 

"_Gekidoshinku..._" 

I passed my hands through the sphere and shoved them forward behind it. Massive bolts of brilliant red electricity exploded everywhere! It looked so vivid against the blue-white lightning crashing around me. Sparks flew whenever the crackling bolts touched something. I saw some lick at the hourglass on the Anime side of the Time Chamber. You know, the one where the sand goes up instead of down. 

It took me a few seconds to get control of my energy. The red lightning condensed into twin blasts from my palms. My biceps were already starting to burn just from holding everything together. 

This wouldn't last long, I had to make the best of it! 

"Hey!" I aimed right at Piccolo and let loose. Sent the twisting energy zipping his way. "AHAHAHAHA! Better run FAST or I'm gonna zap you!" 

Zap was an understatement. Poor Piccolo! He tried to phase away, but his ki only attracted the electricity more. I watched the bolts arc to the floor, right where he reappeared. Piccolo cried out in pain, the same shout he did when Cell almost absorbed his arm. The charge ripped his baggy purple gi open and lifted his body high off the ground. I got a sick enjoyment of seeing him convulse in mid air as thousands of volts passed through his shuddering frame. For those few moments I wasn't even me anymore. My opponent's pain gave me pleasure...isn't that sickening!? 

Piccolo's agonized screams suddenly turned into a gurgle and ceased entirely. He just hung there at the mercy of my _Gekidoshinku,_ his entire body stiff_._ I didn't see the reason for his sudden silence. 

That is, until I noticed a red glow in the clouds behind him. 

Oh my God, I just impaled him! _Oh my GOD!!!_

I came to my senses. The energy and thunderstorm immediately dispersed. Piccolo dropped like a stone and landed roughly on his feet. I heard a loud snapping noise and closed my eyes, not wanting to see what I'd done. 

This is just a nightmare, right? I'll wake up any second, won't I? 

No, not a nightmare. I opened my eyes and the frightening image reappeared. 

Piccolo was lying on his side with his legs folded up underneath him. The same pose Lara Croft lands in if you make her fall feet-first to her death in the game. Something about his body alignment looked weird, but I couldn't quite place it. He appeared to be unconscious, at least I _hope_ he was only unconscious...so I hurried over. 

I rolled Piccolo onto his back and felt his neck for a pulse. It was slow, but strong. I examined the two puckered wounds marring his broad chest. They were wet, but didn't seem to be bleeding much. 

Fate must have smiled on me...I'd missed all his vital organs and blood vessels by millimeters! If his anatomy is anything like a human's, then the blasts struck near both sides of his trachea, just a scant distance from his heart. Luck...pure, dumb luck, saved his life. I could have killed him with my stupid arrogance! 

So this is what it's like to be a Saiyajin... Yes I was powerful, yes I liked having the power...but I didn't like what that power just allowed me to do. 

I cradled Piccolo's head in my lap and broke into tears. "Oh my God, Piccolo! I'm so sorry. Please be okay! I'm taking you to a bed, just hang on and I'll clean you up!" 

Piccolo groaned when I moved to heft him over my back. My plans were to "piggy back" drag him. But when I started lifting him towards my back, he gave a hoarse, almost animalistic cry. A pained noise I _never_ want to hear him make again. 

"What? What is it?" I let go and turned around. Dear Lord, I wish I hadn't. 

Both of Piccolo's legs looked unnatural. At first I thought he just had his knees bent funny. But then I noticed the two limbs looked way shorter than normal. His left knee was twisted sideways at an odd angle. When Piccolo lost consciousness his body automatically powered down. Consider the strong gravity, his body weight, the velocity at which he hit the ground and imagine him landing on his feet in an uncontrolled fall from at least a hundred feet up. The impact snapped his legs like twigs just above the knees. 

Oh my God...what...what have I done? What kind of a freak am I? 

"Piccolo...you have to regenerate yourself! You can fix a broken bone, can't you?" 

Piccolo hitched a deep breath, opened his eyes and stared at my face, his gaze unfocused, "I need to recover my strength first...expended a lot of energy trying to escape your attack. It'll take a while...I need to...rest..." His eyelids fluttered and closed. 

"Wait!" I shook him so he'd stay awake, "Don't we have any Senzu beans?" 

Those dark eyes flickered open. "No. Korin just planted a new batch. They take a month to grow in good soil, longer when there isn't enough sunlight." His face twisted, but his voice remained perfectly steady, "You'll have to set my legs before you move me. Otherwise you risk injuring me further." 

That made me cringe. "Are you NUTS?! I...I can't do that! I've already hurt you enough, how can you ask me to cause you more pain?!" 

Now it was Piccolo's turn to get mean. He angrily grabbed my face between thumb and splayed fingers and yanked me to eye-level. "You should've thought of that before you got all cocky! Maybe next time you'll think about the consequences of your actions before you act! NEVER let your power control you like that again! Now I'm going to walk you through setting the bones. Pay attention and don't you dare wimp out or I'll break your arms AND legs when I get back on my feet!" 

"O-okay..." A bitter liquid collected in the back of my throat. My hands trembled, slick with sweat. I swallowed and nervously licked my lips. "T-tell me what I...what I have to do..." 

Piccolo pushed himself up onto his elbows and glared at me. "This would be a lot easier if you were taller, but...sit down and put your foot between my legs." 

"But..." 

"No 'buts', just do it! We're in my half of the room, remember? There's nothing there to crush so do it!" 

I shuddered with dread. "Are you sure you can't...uh, you know...do this yourself? And don't you need traction for an injury like this?" 

The green man sneered contemptuously, "If I could, would I be asking for your help?! Just shut up and do this or it'll never heal right when I regenerate. I don't want to go ripping my legs off if I don't have to." Then he gestured to the area around him, "We don't have the resources for traction...all I care about is lining the bones up. So just DO AS I SAY AND SHUT UP!!" 

"Eep, okay!" I sat down like he said to do, scared and sick inside. The way he scowled at me was...unnerving. For once I couldn't discern what he felt. He was probably thinking of a million ways to dismember me once he got well. 

"Get my leg across your knee - mmh...now put...my knee over your shoulder...and pull backwards until you hear a crack." Piccolo slowly braced himself, eyes still focused on my face. Like he expected me to wimp out on him...and I probably would have if he didn't need my help to get better. "It's a clean break so it'll line up by itself. Now pull!" 

With my arms wrapped behind Piccolo's knee, I used the foot braced against him as leverage and leaned back. Pulled with all my might and grunted from the effort. _C'mon..._

"Pull harder...dammit!" Piccolo hissed with eyes glazed in pain. 

The swollen, deformed leg quivered in my grasp and the strong thigh muscles knotted up. I heard a loud, sickening crack. Piccolo clutched at his hip, arched his back and roared in agony. 

I wanted to throw up. Piccolo was in this much pain and I had to do it again! 

Carefully, I began working on Piccolo's other leg. This one proved more difficult to manipulate into proper alignment...I had to rotate his knee before I could do anything else. I heard a lot of ugly grinding noises. 

"Ungh!" Piccolo's eyes bulged and his pupils turned white. His entire body shook. He clenched his teeth and gasped, trying to stay silent. His breathing grew more ragged with each swallowed moan. 

Desperate to make his pain stop, I hugged his knee and wrenched the leg backwards with all my might. 

**Crack!**

I heard the bone snap into proper alignment. It sounded exactly like a large joint being popped. Piccolo fell backwards and screamed through trembling jaws. The kind of scream that echoes forever and haunts your nightmares. He's had limbs blown off, been burned and shot through the stomach - all of which involved nerves being severed. I don't think he ever dealt with a broken bone before. He obviously wasn't prepared for the pain. 

Thank God the worst was over. 

"Piccolo, I...I'm so sorry. I just went crazy... I mean, I don't think I'll ever forgive myself if this dumb stunt of mine ruined our relationship. Please don't hate my guts for this..." Here came the tears again. I did a slow face-palm and tried to keep my voice steady, "Please don't hate me. You have every reason to...but please don't." Good Lord, I'm such a wimp! But if Piccolo really did want me to go home after this, I guess I deserve it for being so stupid. 

Piccolo twisted his head around to look at me. His left eye twitched, a sign that he was still in a lot of pain. One of the wounds in his chest started oozing a little blood. "Just remember that you're not the strongest being in the universe. You might feel like it, but you're not. You caught me off-guard...and that will never happen again." 

"I know." I winced and closed my eyes. Each time I spoke to him I felt like I risked a fierce retort. "We need to get you back into the chamber area so those wounds can be taken care of. Since I did it, I might as well help fix it. Now sit tight while I find something to splint your legs...at least long enough to get you to a bed." 

"More of that mothering bit?" He eyeballed me, still expressionless. 

I hung my head. Shame closed my throat so tightly that only a whisper escaped, "Yeah...might as well since you need help. Can't leave you sitting out here for however long you need to rest. What's the dignity in that?" 

"Hm." Piccolo's eyes finally regained their normal color, albeit less shiny. "How do you plan on carrying me back? You know I can't fly in this condition without damaging my legs further." 

Ack. I hadn't thought of that. Being the impulsive person I am though, I blurted, "I'll just carry you on my back, I guess. I'll find a way to get you onto my side of the room so I don't run the risk of hurting you any more." 

Piccolo lifted a hairless brow. "I'll be able to use my energy to lessen my weight when we shift between Realities. I'm afraid that'll be all the help I can offer." 

"That should work." 

I left the wounded Namek alone and rushed back to the living area. Let's see....what would be strong enough to brace his entire thigh? An armpit-to-ankle splint just wouldn't work, not on both legs. Dammit, let's just hope a small splint would keep the bone from moving. But what would make a good brace? 

I shifted my gaze to the kitchen table. Pure wood. That'd work! 

Four karate chops reduced the wooden table back into timber. I carried the pieces back out to Piccolo and knelt beside him. "I'm going to try and splint your legs before I move you. Broken femurs bleed into your thigh and a splint will stop it from getting any worse than it already is. Now let's just hope I do this right...I'm gonna brace them in the position they're in now and use the wood for handles when I carry you on my back. I'll have to use strips of your cape to tie them on." 

Piccolo seemed uncertain, but didn't say anything. What other choice did he have? He was bleeding internally and externally, his legs were broken and he was probably going to enter shock if something wasn't done soon. 

All because of me and my stupid power. It felt like all the guilt in the universe was resting on my shoulders. 

"Okay, here goes." I measured the broken table pieces until I found two long enough to be suitable splints. "Now just lift your butt off the ground and I'll slide these under your legs." 

I received another odd look from Piccolo. He twisted his face in pain and lifted his rear end up while I slid the lumber into place. "Now where did you learn to do this?" 

"Uh...." I stopped tearing strips out of his white cape and glanced over, "Well...from the internet. Somewhat. The rest is just me improvising. See, I'm supposed to bind your legs together, but they're both broken and that won't help. These are just temporary braces anyway." 

"I see..." At least he tried to sound interested. 

More guilt pressed down on my shoulders. I twisted the cloth strips into ropes for strength and tied the splints in place. Lots of patience and several minutes later, Piccolo was ready to be moved. I squatted down, he grabbed my shoulders and stuck his splinted legs over my hips. I looped my arms around the wood and carried him towards the living area...one shaky step at a time. 

Hey, Piccolo is heavy, even to a Saiyajin! I found myself dreading the moment when I'd pass through the septum dividing our Realities. 

But I didn't need to worry. Piccolo emitted small amounts of energy just like he promised. It helped a lot more than I expected and gave me a workout to boot. 

Eventually, I got Piccolo(who decided not to remove the leg-splints) settled into bed with his legs propped up on pillows to keep the swelling down. He squeezed his eyes shut, bared his teeth and hissed angrily during the transfer. His face lost all expression as soon as he was lying still. The tension around his lips and subtle tremblings in his cheeks and chin remained glaringly obvious. I was glad I brought him into my side of the room, it made reading his vague facial expressions a little easier. 

I went about patching up his chest the best I could. Let me tell you, those wounds were ugly! Looking away and throwing up would've been easier than actually touching the slippery mess. 

But Dende wasn't here. He couldn't magic himself onto the room and heal Piccolo's boo-boos. 

It was all up to me. 

I'm no surgeon so the best I did was wash them out with soapy water and stuff two rolled-up sanitary pads inside to absorb the fluids oozing out. Don't laugh, okay? They were the only absorbent material available at the time. 

Thank God for the show_ ER._ Without it I'd have never known how to irrigate or pack injuries like that. 

And Piccolo's stony silence stretched on. He watched me intently while I worked on him, and I studied him so I would know if I was hurting him or not. 

Then our eyes met. 

My upper legs began to ache. Sharp pains tunneled through my chest. I bunched a corner of the sheets in my fist and pressed it against my mouth. 

_His pain...I can feel his pain..._

"I-I'm...so sorry, Piccolo..." I told him again. "I - " 

"Be quiet." The Namek finally spoke. I felt so relieved, knowing I was still worth talking to after what I did to him. "Beating yourself up won't change what happened. It was an accident and it's over with. We both learned from it. Let it go." His closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. Struggling for composure under all the agony. 

"...I'll try." 

"Hmph." 

Piccolo said no more after that. I stayed sitting on the edge of the bed and watched his handsome green face relax as he rested. For once I was actually afraid to touch him. I couldn't even bring myself to give him a get-well kiss...because I feared my touch would only harm him more. 

Blazing hot tears finally found their escape down my face. I let them fall. Piccolo was resting and wouldn't notice if I remained silent. I turned my back towards him and buried my face in a pillow to muffle my blubbering. 

A large hand pressed itself against my back. I stiffened, gasping, more jumpy than normal in my exhausted state. 

"I'm not mad at you anymore." Piccolo's deep, sexy voice spoke, "Just remember what your power did to your ego and don't let it happen again. Now stop your whimpering and let me have some peace and quiet." 

I looked over my shoulder while still hugging the pillow. "So I'm forgiven?" 

Piccolo answered me by exhaling loudly through his nose, flaring his narrow nostrils. One corner of his prominent lips curled slightly upwards. Then he closed his shiny granite eyes, turned his face away and sighed. I'm not sure if he was really asleep or just meditating...he breathes the same way for both. 

Wait, his jaw just relaxed; he's falling asleep. 

It'll be a while before I'll be able to forgive myself, but time will heal me. Knowing Piccolo didn't hate my guts provided the Band-Aid my soul needed. The ugly, heavy knot lifted itself from the pit of my stomach. Oh I'll stop dwelling on this eventually, but it's not easy. My own conscience is probably more brutal than any foe I ever faced. I hang on to pain and anger for a while, berating myself until I think it's okay to move on. 

And I was really taking a mental beating today. 

With a heavy heart, I leaned over and lightly touched my lips to Piccolo's cheek. It made his eyelids flutter and his lips curl into a smirk. In the flesh, he looked almost boyish while asleep. All the tense lines were smoothed off his angular features, making him seem like an entirely different person. I wish he'd let his face relax like that when he was awake. 

_Sleep well, my sweet green lover. I'll make sure you stay safe._

I assumed the lotus position on the bed and quietly watched over him while he rested. It felt weird, the way our roles were temporarily reversed. 

In silence, I studied how shadows played about the perfect curves of Piccolo's closed eyes and parted lips. He looked so comfortable between the white sheets and purple blankets. You'd never know by looking that he had such horrific injuries. 

But I did. 

After all this, would I dare call on my ki again in a real fight? How do I know I won't go insane the next time I power up? I could so easily lose control. 

It wasn't worth the risk. 

Sighing, I stretched out on my stomach and smoothed the sheets down against Piccolo's bare upper body. 

_"Beating yourself up won't change what happened. It was an accident and it's over with. We both learned from it. Let it go."_ His comment came back to haunt me. Good advice, let's just pray my conscience will let me take it to heart. 

"You'll be okay, Piccolo..." I told him softly, "...and someday I hope I will be, too." 


	9. Part Eight

Self-insertion, language and nudity warning.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Eight

  
  
  
  


Piccolo is just full of surprises, you know? I expected him to sleep for a few hours, then wake up re-energized and be completely fine. 

He slept for two days. 

I spent all forty-eight of those hours at his side, holding his hand. Only leaving to eat, use the bathroom and take cat-naps. 

Void didn't bother Piccolo's dreams. I know because I checked by touching his forehead and looking into his mind as much as I could. He didn't dream much, but when he did, it was horrifying. Almost everything he envisioned involved memories of his father's past. That had to be horrible for him! Can you imagine coming to consciousness with evil memories that stem from before you existed? 

Suddenly the jumble I saw when we made love started making sense. From the moment of his birth, Piccolo was shunned by the world. It hurt him at first. Badly. He spent many nights afraid and alone when he was a child. As he grew older, he became accustomed to the pain and fear. It slowly made him indifferent and cold, like he is today. So that means he's carried that pain his entire life with no one to share it with. 

"Oh, you poor man..." I said softly to his sleeping form. I stroked his forehead with my palm, my fingers gently brushing his listless antennae aside, "You shouldn't have to carry that around all the time..." 

Then I saw that his lips were getting dry. 

Okay, I knew Piccolo was resisting his own thirst to train himself. But I made an exception while he was wounded. Every four hours, I spooned some small ice chips in his mouth to keep him hydrated. Maybe that would help speed his recovery. 

If taking care of Piccolo wasn't hard enough...I had other problems to deal with. Just after midnight on the first night of my watch, I felt a familiar nausea stemming from deep in my pelvis and a slight burning sensation in my most private area. A trip to the bathroom revealed a bright red stain in my underwear. 

"Great, just great." 

On top of all this, I just had to start my period, didn't I?! I grabbed myself a clean pair of panties, put in a pad and resumed my watch over Piccolo. 

Well, that explains why I'd been so emotional and craving bananas, tomatoes and chicken all day long. I should've realized my incessant depression and quicker-than-usual temper were being exacerbated by raging hormones. I was also relieved that I wasn't pregnant. Though I doubted Piccolo could get me pregnant, I did think about it. Now, I didn't have to, at least not unless we do the deed again. Most of the time I'm pretty good at telling when I'm ovulating...and three or so weeks after I notice the signs, my period shows up. 

I'm also a total moron. I forgot to ask Bulma for Tylenol before entering the Time Chamber. That means I had no medicinal pain relief what-so-ever for my cramps...and I didn't dare leave Piccolo's side to take a hot bath. I felt as if this pain was fate punishing me for what I did to him. So I spent my time curled up in fetal position on the bed, watching him sleep. 

The cramps came in waves like a spiked vice centered my between my belly button and pubic bone. Whoever said exercise relieves cramps needs to be shot. If I so much as wiggled my toes, the dull ache pulled on all my innards like a black hole. 

Writing was my only escape. My desire to keep you and the other Believers informed fueled my pencil as I wrote down everything Piccolo and I went through. 

Hours ticked by like years. I looked at the clock. Three in the morning - or afternoon - hard to tell in this place. All I know is I was exhausted. I kept dipping in and out of slumber, always waking up to Piccolo's calm emerald face. 

The second day was pretty much the same. I gave Piccolo some ice and spent the next several hours writing. I felt like a zombie. 

Usually I like to be completely alone. I can stare into space without people interrupting me. I don't have to worry about someone getting annoyed at me for listening to the same song fifty times in a row. Sometimes I'll spontaneously start singing just to hear myself make music. 

Now, the solitude disturbed me. I didn't like it. 

Maybe I'll sing a little for Piccolo...he wouldn't mind would he? Not if I sang a nice song that soothed away the bad memories. Now let's see, what song could I sing softly without tiring my throat out? Oh! I know! 

I bent down closer to Piccolo's up-turned ear and gently began an old Bryan Adams song I had stuck in my head, "_Ohhh thinking about all our younger years...there was only you and me...we were young and wild and free. Now nothing can take you away from me. We've been down that road before, but that's over now. You keep me comin' back for more... Baby, you're all that I want...when you're lyin' here in my arms. I'm findin' it hard to believe...we're in Heaven. And love is all that I need, and I found it there in your heart. It isn't too hard to see...we're in Heaven..._" 

Actually, singing to him made me feel quite a bit better. I've always wanted to sing for him and this song explains how I feel about him so much...it's just that I have horrible stage fright. It makes singing in front of people almost impossible. Even doing it for a sleeping one-person audience made my stomach knot up. 

I finished the song and sighed, putting my head down next to Piccolo's. Whatever bad dream he was having disappeared...or it changed. Hard to tell. 

Incredible fatigue pressed down on my eyelids. Cramps or no cramps, I still fell into a deep and dreamless asleep.   
  


God only knows how long I slept. I picked my head up and wiped my mouth off. Ugh, I hate waking up in a puddle of drool! I glanced over and saw that Sleeping Beauty still hadn't moved. Not even a change in his peaceful expression. 

"Well then maybe a kiss will break the spell," I muttered. Worth a try. I bent over and pressed my lips to Piccolo's slightly parted ones. Then I leaned back and waited. 

Nothing happened. What a crock! 

"I guess that trick only works in fairy tales. Oh well." I slithered off the comfortable mattress and staggered into the bathroom. My mouth felt like it was full of cotton and my right cheek was all crusty. Probably from drooling into the pillow. Gross! I turned the sink on and started scrubbing my whole face. 

After taking my medicine, changing my pad and brushing my hair and teeth, I headed out in search of a quick breakfast. I poured myself a glass of milk and grabbed a banana(which I dipped in the milk between bites). Why rush around? Piccolo was still asleep. I sat there, lazily enjoying how milk squished out of the banana each time I took a bite. I know I'm weird...you're supposed to dip Oreo cookies, not bananas! Sue me for being weird. 

My mood had grown sullen and dark by then. I was bored. "And now for another day of waiting..." I mumbled to myself as I returned to the sleeping area and drew aside the curtain surrounding Piccolo's slumbering form. 

The bed was empty. 

I pulled the tangled sheets aside. The makeshift splints were still there. I climbed onto the mattress, which was still very warm, and examined the wooden braces. "What the..." 

"Looking for me?" 

"Gah!" I spun quickly to face the deep, scratchy voice. 

There stood Piccolo, smirking at me with his legs planted and arms crossed. His clothes were all fixed and everything, not a single thread was missing. Not one! For a guy that just slept for two days, he was surprisingly clear-eyed and alert. Not a even an eye-booger existed to indicate he was just recently flat on his back. 

Wow, I guess my kiss had a delayed effect! 

Either way, I was glad to see him awake. Very glad. 

"Piccolo! You're okay!" I sprang off the bouncy mattress, wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Perfect glomp! 

Piccolo had no choice but to catch me in his strong arms. He didn't even stumble backwards when my tiny weight planted itself on him. "Of course I'm okay. I induced a temporary coma because the pain kept waking me up. I could still hear pretty much everything that went on around me, though." 

Heat gathered in my cheeks. If he heard everything, that means...oh great! "Ahhhh no! Then you heard me sing, too! Aah!" I buried my face in his shoulder. He still smelled like the desert sand with a touch of salt. There was also another musky scent. Not really bad, but it made me wonder when he last bathed. 

Well, I shouldn't talk. I needed a shower myself. 

My embarrassment produced a chuckle from Piccolo. "Relax, kid. It wasn't half-bad." 

"But I didn't think you'd actually hear me," I blushed even more against his heavy shoulderpad. Then I sobered and took my face away from his shoulder, but didn't look up, "Really, though...about what happened - " 

"Don't." Piccolo cut me off. He caught my chin with a bent forefinger and raised my head. His voice came out a little firmer, but no louder than before, "What did I tell you earlier? Just let it go." But when I didn't look convinced, he lightened his tone, "Look...you actually did me a favor. Whenever I'm severely injured, the part I regenerate comes back stronger. So if we somehow had another weird incident like last night, well...I wouldn't get hurt quite as badly." He kept me trapped in his unwavering gaze. Unlike me, Piccolo doesn't get uncomfortable with eye-contact. "Now just forget it ever happened and move on." 

"Okay," I said quietly, staring up at his green face. Oh how I love his dark gray eyes. They seem infinitely deep and mysterious, yet expressive at the same time. "Listen...no offense, but I think we both need a good bath or something." 

He raised a brow, "Is that so?" 

"Mmhmm...so uh..." A goofy smile plastered itself across my face, "Why don't we just take a bath together? It'll save water and give us time to talk some more. Besides, you're probably all stiff from sleeping in the same position for so long...and these damn cramps of mine are making me want to scream." 

"...Cramps?" 

"Monthly thing, remember? A warm bath relieves the pain. We both need a good bath anyway," I scrunched my face up and laughed, "I can smell myself and you know it's bad if you can smell your own body odor. Ewww." 

Piccolo closed his eyes and sighed, smirking wryly, "You just like seeing me without any clothes on." 

"_Always_, big guy. You have a body that would make any man jealous." I wiggled my eyebrows at him affectionately, giggling when his eyes widened at my audacity. "Seriously though, this is my I'm A Bitch Week. I'd probably claw your eyes out at the slightest provocation, so you don't have to worry about little ol' me jumping you." I let go of him and used his body as a pole to slide down to the ground. His strong arms easily accommodated my sudden drop. 

The Namek crossed his arms as soon as they were free. He turned his head and peered at the bathtub situated in another room. "I suppose I'll join you for a while. It won't replace a hot spring, but I'll survive." 

"Cool!" A little happy bubble formed in my stomach, "You start the water. I'll get the towels and the bubbles. We'll meet somewhere in the middle, I hope."   
  


Piccolo reminded me of a contented cat just awakening from a nap. He was already in the tub, chest deep in the water with his head back and his arms crossed. Fluffy white bubbles surrounded his green skin. Well, HE was chest deep...the steaming, bubbly water came up to my collar bones when I dropped my towel, lined up my soap and shampoo and joined him amidst the mountains of glistening whiteness. Our combined mass displaced a lot of water. Some overflowed onto the floor with soft pattering sounds. 

"Mmm, nice." I cooed as the hot liquid engulfed me. I submerged myself completely to wet my hair, surfaced and settled across from him. 

"Not too bad," Piccolo answered neglectfully without opening eyes. He didn't even move when I planted my butt between his feet and draped my legs across his. If I'd been any taller than I am now, we probably wouldn't have fit together in the tub. 

I grabbed his knees with my toes and chuckled, "You look like a merman over there." 

"Sorry, I don't come with fins." He opened one eye and smirked. 

"Very funny," I flicked water at him, but he didn't react. 

Awkward silence settled between us. I got irritated and shoved a glob of bubbles away. Dammit, I hate it when I can't figure out how to say what I want to say! 

I hooked an index finger around Piccolo's left big toe and carelessly jiggled it back and forth. "So um...about what happened with Void the last time we fought her...you know, the dream catcher." 

"Yeah?" Piccolo didn't indicate whether or not he liked me fondling his toes. He simply nodded his head, waiting for me to continue. 

Fluffy white bubbles drifted forward across the water and attached to my chin. "Well...you saw what happened when I touched her with it. It burned her pretty bad. If it's a weakness we have to exploit it as much as we can. I mean, what if it's the key to beating her, huh? Then what do we do? Make a giant dream catcher and burn her to death?" 

"She's too smart for that." Piccolo tugged his foot free of my probing fingers and draped it over the edge of the tub. A huge slew of bubbles attached to his leg and made it shimmer. Piccolo has such sexy legs for a guy! They're so long and lean, like the rest of him, he's never really "pumped" unless he's powered up for a fight. He just seems big because I'm so little. 

"Welllll..." I squished a handful of puffy whiteness in my palm, "we have to make some kind of plan, and I'm horrible at planning." 

"Hmph." 

More grumbling from me. I sat up indian style in the tub and stared down at the water's surface. Between the islands of bubbles, it was pretty clear. I let my eyes lose focus and stared blankly at the shimmery liquid for who knows how long. _Oh come on, Piccolo, please tell me you're planning something in your head. I'm too scattered for that. You're a million times smarter than I am...think of something!_

I brought my gaze back into focus. Something flickered on the water's surface. A reflection. 

A very black reflection. 

My breath caught in my throat. Void's reflection smiled at me. Next thing I knew, a cloudy scarlet liquid oozed into the water. It was coming from between my legs. Not just a little drip that swirls and disappears, either. While I looked on in horror, the water surrounding me turned brilliant red. I didn't feel any pain, oddly. That didn't make it any less frightening. I was bleeding to death! 

"Oh my God!" I jumped up into a standing position with my heart lodged in my throat. 

Water splashed as Piccolo jerked erect, "What's the problem?" 

I pointed to the water, "Look!" 

He looked down at the water, then up at me. A flicker of confusion passed his angular features, "Cyndi...there's nothing there. Are you...okay?" 

My eyes darted to the water. It was clear again. Not one bubble or molecule out of place. I felt utterly stupid and helpless, how would I explain this when I had no proof? 

"Um...I-I just remembered I didn't wash my hair yet. Yeah...I'll just get the shower running and wash my hair." I slipped from the tub with a flushed face. Grabbed my shampoo, conditioner and soap and scooted over to the shower set up on the wall. There was a drain on the floor, but no other walls. 

"Cyndi?" 

I ignored him. 

Piccolo got quite an eyeful of my nakedness while I scrubbed the top of my head first, then pulled the rest of my hair over my shoulder and coated it in shampoo. When your hair is as long as mine is, you _never_ bunch it on your head to wash it, all you'll do is create horrible tangles! If it wasn't that time of the month and I hadn't been so terrified by what I saw in the bathtub, I would have enjoyed knowing that Piccolo was watching me "preen" my mane. But it was impossible to enjoy anything in my state of panic. I rinsed, squeezed out most of the water and applied the conditioner. More waiting while the conditioner sank into my hair, then another rinse. I finished up by using my fingers to brush my wet bangs back into place and then washing my armpits and between my legs with the soap. The faucets squeaked as I shut them off. I dried myself quickly and put on some deodorant. 

The whole time, Piccolo sat there in the bubble bath and watched me with a confused look on his face. I avoided his gaze, struggling with all my might to avoid bursting into tears. Unbalanced hormones and fear just don't mix. 

"S-sorry..." I mumbled to him, for lack of anything else to say. I hurried away to pull my clothes on and figure out what the hell happened. 

Five minutes later(four of which were spent throwing up), I was fully dressed again. I'd nearly finished wrapping my hair in a towel when a large hand touched my back. My nerves were so fried by then that I released a blood-curdling scream and wrenched away from the touch. 

It was only Piccolo...who now had both hands over his ears with a pained facial expression. I scream from my diaphragm at pretty much the same frequency as a person whistles, so I can imagine that must have hurt. 

I couldn't take it anymore. The tears came slowly, burning my cheeks on the way down. I gave up the fight and sobbed quietly. 

"_Something_ obviously happened back there, Cyndi. You wouldn't act like this if nothing was wrong." Piccolo's voice was very soft and calm. He knew that yelling at me while I was like this would only upset me more. 

"You wouldn't believe me," I sniffled pathetically, avoiding his gaze yet again when he tried to tip my chin up. 

Piccolo flashed me a sardonic, lopsided smile. "You'd be surprised at what I believe, kid. C'mon, let's get you settled down so you can tell me just what went on back there." He ushered me from the bathroom and pushed me gently down to sit on the nearest bed. 

I was glad he stayed with me, I don't think I could've walked on my own power. It took me quite some time to regain control of myself. Briefly I remembered the time I told Piccolo I felt braver when he was around...boy was that the truth! 

"I was staring at the water and kind of daydreamed a little. All of a sudden I saw Void's reflection and them I could've sworn I saw blood gushing out of me and into the tub. Way more blood than my body could afford to lose." I shivered in disgust and chewed my lower lip. 

Piccolo took the information in quietly without comment. His expression didn't offer me any clues to what he was thinking. 

Suddenly his lips pulled tight and his nose wrinkled. Anger flashed through his dynamic granite eyes. "She's getting stronger. Every dream Void devours feeds her strength!" Piccolo gripped my shoulders fiercely and gave me a small shake, "Cyndi, I know it's tough, but you can't let her mess with your mind! Remember, she's lurking in your subconscious and she'll attack you in any way she can. This monthly bleeding you have probably makes your mind more vulnerable than usual. You must stay alert. Don't let her break you down." 

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled. 

Piccolo shook me again, "C'mon, I need you, kid. You've come too far to just quit now." 

_I need you._ I looked up at his face when I heard those words from his mouth. "I need you too, Piccolo...help me through this. I won't quit, not while I'm still breathing." 

"That's more like it." He gave my cheek a pat and stood up. 

I blushed when I realized he was still butt-naked, mostly because of what came to eye level when he straightened. A little late, but I got my peep show. I resisted the urge to grab it. 

Unaware of my brief delight, Piccolo turned and walked off to get dressed. I twisted around and watched his naked form move around the corner. He was so graceful, even the simple act of walking seemed imbued in sensuality. Oh if only he realized the power he has over me. 

"Hey, Piccolo?" 

Piccolo poked his head back around the corner. "Yeah?" 

I linked my fingers together in my lap, "Can we try the bubble bath again some other time?" 

Piccolo's stone face disappeared for a brief moment. He allowed himself to smile a genuine, natural smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and revealed a dimple in each cheek. It wavered just long enough for him to say, "Sure, kid." Then he disappeared from view, but the light of his unrestrained smile stayed long after he'd gone.   
  


The glowing white floor felt warm under my butt. I had no idea why Piccolo wanted me to sit out in the void...especially on my side...just sitting up required considerable effort. We've been training our minds for two months now(I've improved a lot, according to him). He never hid anything from me. 

Until now, that is. 

I can't believe this. According to my pocket calendar, it's my birthday. Call me spoiled, but I'm used to people being extra nice to me on my special day. Piccolo was pretty much the opposite. 

I woke up this morning to find him bent intently over something. He gave me a sharp look and said to eat a good breakfast and go sit in the white void. So I did. I've been here for almost half an hour, gazing dully at the barely-visible septum that divided Reality from Anime - he told me to sit near the divide. 

_Geez...what is Piccolo doing? Building a house?!_ I stared at the whiteness above, contemplating the activities to come. Maybe he was planning something really cool as part of our training! 

A swish sounded off to my left. Piccolo came out and seated himself in the lotus position in front of me without offering an explanation for his delay. We were facing each other, him in Anime form and me in my Real one, both on our correct sides of the room. 

I folded my hands in my lap, "So why are we out here? Please humor me." 

"I'll answer that in a minute," the Namek grumbled sullenly. "First I have to get this foolishness out of the way. Close your eyes and don't move." 

"Uh...okay." I rested my elbows on my knees and did as he said. He was up to something. I couldn't resist smiling. 

A rustle sounded as Piccolo stood up, moved behind me and squatted down. He slid his wrist under my hair to hold it out of the way. His careful hands pulled a thin leather rope against my skin. I felt him tying a careful knot in the back. He lowered my hair after a moment and moved back around to where he was sitting before. 

"You can look now." 

I lowered my head and opened my eyes. I was right, it was a black leather rope. But the dime-sized charm literally took my breath away. It was a perfect yin yang set in silver - one stone was fiery red and the other ice-blue. _Real_ gems buffed so smooth they practically glowed. On the back I found a purple stone shaped like a lightning bolt. A symbol only he and I understood. 

The gift was even more special to me because Piccolo made it with his own two hands. 

Speechless, I jerked my head up to meet Piccolo's dark eyes. Words finally came to me, "It's...beautiful! Thank you! I'll never, ever take it off!" I lunged forward, kissing him through the thin veil separating our Realities. It rippled wildly when our lips met. 

Piccolo pulled back and smirked sexily at me. He gave me a light, friendly smack to the head, "Happy birthday, kid." Then he got serious...very don't-goof-off-now serious. "Now...settle down, the party's over. We're gonna do something a little different this time, so listen carefully." 

I sobered, though swallowing my elation was difficult. Celebrating the fact that Piccolo acknowledged my birthday at all would have to wait for later. "So what're we doing?" 

"We're gonna create a mixed image." He said calmly. 

"Duh, what?" 

That made Piccolo roll his eyes. He hates the word 'duh'. "We're going to meditate together like we always do. Only this time we're going to picture things the way they look in our own Reality. It'll be chaos at first, but with a little fine-tuning we should be okay," he explained. "As you saw in the bathtub a few months ago, Void can twist your perceptions. We must be ready for a trick like that. Now...we're doing this without the vial. Just let your mind go blank like I taught you and let's see what happens. Think of something you're familiar with. I will do the same. Don't get nervous if you see a hybrid image, it's supposed to look that way." Piccolo held his hands palm-out against the faint sheen. "Ready, kid?" 

"As I'll ever be." I reached up and placed my tiny hands against Piccolo's large ones. The line between our Realities rippled fiercely when we made contact. 

Piccolo and I have been practicing meditation without the vial of potion for quite a while now. He taught me how to hum until my mind noticed only the sound and nothing else. It was really funny at first - because I've been singing for several years now, I've developed a vibrato(where the voice shakes). It kept sneaking into my hum, thus distracting me. Turns out I wasn't breathing right. 

_"Don't belly-breathe. Hum from your chest, not your throat."_ Piccolo had told me. 

It worked. No more vibrato to distract me. 

So here we were, both humming the same note several octaves apart. Our voices were like two straight lines stretching out into eternity. 

Piccolo's voice faded, he'd slipped just beyond consciousness. My hum cut off a little later as I entered the trance and joined him.   
  


I opened my eyes again and found my bedroom. Everything was exactly as I remembered it the night I left. The bed was disheveled. My bag of Doritos lay open on the computer desk. It was all there, right down to the pink fuzzy dice hanging on my AIWA stereo's volume knob. 

The vivid image fooled me into believing I was actually in my room. I picked up the Doritos, unfolded the bag and munched away. Doritos are my second favorite snack in the whole universe. 

Something seemed a little weird. Took me long enough to notice....but I couldn't hear my dad snoring. He snores pretty darn loud, I always hear him. I stopped chewing and listened. 

Silence. 

"Hmmmm..." I sucked the orange powder off my fingers and approached the door. Maybe he was asleep with his mouth shut, thus cutting off the snoring. 

More silence. 

I opened the door, ready to step out into the hall. 

My family room wasn't there. The couch, the coffee table and the two end tables were, but the rest was missing. An Anime cave with smooth brown-gray walls and a dusty floor replaced everything else. It was a really weird mix of Anime and Real! Nothing looked like it belonged. 

"Damn." I crept from the safety of my bedroom and into the bizarre mix. All the furniture in my house sat exactly where it belonged...but instead of a Real roof and walls I saw Anime stalagmites, stalactites and rocky outcroppings! I looked down at my hands. I was still Real. 

Now I just needed to find Piccolo. He'd help me sort this mess out. 

I drifted along through pieces of furniture and rock, examining obstacles as I passed. The rock wall off to my left had been cleared out to make a shelf. On the shelf sat a melted candle with paper so filthy that I couldn't tell if it had been written on or not. The Anime paper looked sharp and unnatural against my Real skin, but it still felt normal. 

After a few moments I got that tingling feeling I sometimes get when someone is standing right behind me. I looked over my shoulder and - sure enough - found Piccolo standing there. He was in his natural Anime form. 

"This is the most bizarre thing I've ever experienced," I said lightly. "It almost looks like we both thought of our homes....assuming of course this is where you lived while you were in the desert." 

"You could call it that, I suppose. I only came here when the weather got nasty," Piccolo showed neither a smile or sneer. He crossed his arms and gazed down at me, "It's funny. Our thinking patterns are a lot alike. We both pictured 'home'." 

"That is kind of funny," I sighed. "I guess it's where we both want to be right now." Then I shook the dirty papers and held them up where Piccolo could see them, "What are these?" 

He lifted the dirty objects from my fingertips, seated himself indian-style and examined them more closely. A sweep of his hand brushed off some of the filth to reveal alien writing that I assumed was Namekian. "A memoir...call it a diary...of sorts. From the moment I became aware of my own existence, my sire's memories plagued me. I'm basically him, reborn, but with my own mind. I started writing everything down..." His voice sounded kind of sad, betraying his expressionless mask. "It was an escape, I guess, and to remind me of who I was and why I was born." 

I stood craned my neck for a better look at the dirty pages. Piccolo must have used a piece of charcoal to write with, judging from the color and thickness of the symbols. The handsome Namek sat there for quite a while, reading through the pages of memories. 

I started sensing mixed emotions from him. Anger, guilt, pain and sadness. 

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I reached over and shoved my hand over the paper to prevent him from reading further. "Piccolo, _who's_ memories are these?" 

"My sire's, of course. I said so before." said Piccolo without hesitation. 

My hand pressed down against the mottled paper, "Your father's. Not _yours_, Piccolo. I mean...the stuff you wrote here isn't your life, it's his. You're not that monster anymore, you know, so why keep this? It's the past. Just rip it up and let it go. Your life began when you met Gohan all those years ago...not when you broke out of your egg and said you hated peace." 

"That kid did change me for the better," Piccolo quirked his lips into a brief smirk and lifted his gaze from the writing. The smirk dropped seconds later. "But you know...when I dove in front of that blast, I wasn't just trying to protect Gohan. I was also trying to end my miserable life. Gohan had his whole life ahead of him, and I, well, let's just say I didn't see much in my future. I'd killed Goku and taught Gohan everything I knew. There was nothing left for me to do." He chuckled bitterly, "Of course I wound up being suckered into taking Snake Way and the rest is history. I'm doomed to live with my sire's shadow lurking in my past. Ripping up a pile of papers isn't going to erase it." 

Emboldened, I tipped my chin forward, "Neither is carrying around all that pain." I clicked my tongue and went on, "I glimpsed your dreams while you were recovering. All you dreamed about was the past and what he did. That's all you see in your meditations, too, isn't it? If you're not worried about a battle, you're thinking about this. No wonder you're always so serious and silent all the time." 

Piccolo frowned deeply at me, "It's still a piece of me." 

"Yeah, a piece that died a _long_ time ago." I gripped his large wrist between both hands and smiled, "I'm not here to judge you, Piccolo. I'm just telling you that you've been alone with your pain for too long." 

The paper shook in Piccolo's hand, I could hear it rattling. His lips tightened into a bloodless line. He lowered the pile of papers onto the dusty rock floor and spoke, his voice so soft I barely heard it, "I have always been alone, even in a crowd. No words can even begin explaining what it's like to feel that way and have no way to tell someone about it." 

"I feel like that, too, most of the time. Except when I'm with you." Picking up the first page in the pile, I handed it to him, "Now start ripping. That part of your past is dead, so bury it and let it go." I grabbed the second sheet and held it between both hands, "I'll help. On the count of three, we'll both rip at the same time." 

Piccolo closed his eyes and turned the sheet sideways between his fingers. 

"One..." I tightened my grip. 

"Two," he joined in the count, also bracing himself. 

"THREE!" 

RRRRRRRRRIP! Both of us ripped our page into two halves. I continued tearing my page up until I had a nice little wad of confetti that I tossed into the air. The tiny pieces rained down like dirty snow, surrounding us. 

Piccolo seemed to be having trouble with his torn pieces. His expression showed a massive inner turmoil. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. All at once he crumpled the paper bits in his fists, turning his head so I couldn't see his face. He dropped the wadded sheets, clasped his hands together as if to pray and pressed them against his mouth. New lines formed around his lips obvious even though he was Anime. I heard him breathing raggedly through his nose. He was trembling all over, obviously wrestling with something. 

Suddenly, his breath hitched. Twice. Three times. Tears as pure as morning dew seeped from under his eyelids and skittered down his emerald cheeks. They converged just under his chin and dropped off, shining like stars and making soft pat-pat noises when they landed on the paper. More followed, some coming so fast they formed separate trails across his cheeks. It was so quiet that I could hear them landing on the paper, the ground and his skin. He stayed frozen in that position for what seemed like an eternity. His majestic cape encircled him. A fallen angel illuminated from above by rays of sunlight shining through cracks in the ceiling. 

No, I'm not letting him suffer alone. 

I stretched a hand out towards his arm, "Piccolo?" 

Piccolo's eyes fluttered open, glistening like gems, but he didn't acknowledge my presence. Instead, he snatched the paper pile from the floor and viciously ripped it to shreds. He kept tearing pages and sniffling loudly until he held two handfuls of dirty confetti clenched in his fists. He looked up at me, his tear-streaked face twisted in anger and frustration. It was clear that he wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words. 

But his face said it all. 

I think that's when his pain hit the breaking point. To tell you the truth, my eyes didn't stay dry either when I saw his expression. 

Piccolo hung his head, staring at the piles on his palms. Undisguised pain distorted his green features. Multiple silver streaks drew glittering patterns over his aristocratic cheekbones. He sloppily pushed the pile against my palms and clasped my hands around it. His hands resumed their previous clasped position, only this time mine were folded between them. He avoided my gaze for the first time since I've known him. 

"No, don't hide from me," I leaned forward when his eyes finally met mine. He looked fierce even with the wet trails lining his cheeks. "Piccolo, you're not alone this time." 

Two large, green hands framed my face. Piccolo's deep voice came out hoarse and stilted, "I-I can't...I can't control it! I...I..." he broke off, "I'm a warrior...warriors don't..." 

I put the ripped paper down and covered his trembling lips with one hand, "Shhh. Everybody cries, Piccolo. You've always been so strong for me, now let me be strong for you." Moving my hand aside, I framed his face like he'd done to me. My soft Real hands contrasted with his leathery Anime skin. "It's okay." 

One by one Piccolo's walls crumbled. I heard him sniffle several times, his warm breath bathing my face. Then he squeezed his glistening eyes shut, grimaced and let his forehead touch mine. Diamond-clear tears poured down his face to pool in the webbing between my thumbs and forefingers. They were ice cold at first...but the more he let fall, the warmer they became. He was leaning exclusively on me, depending on my strength to keep him upright. 

Finally, I heard him make a small noise deep in his throat. He wilted fully into my arms and pressed his moist eyes against my chest. The hands framing my face slid down and gripped my shirt. Shuddering sobs shook his large green form. Three softly hitched breaths and then a low, barely audible moan; he had a rhythm for everything, even in the way he cried. It was almost musical. 

"It's okay...just let it all out." I wrapped both arms tightly around his neck. Gently rubbed his back and stroked his pointed ears while his tears soaked into my shirt. Stroking Piccolo's ears is actually soothing to him(when he's Anime), though I doubt I'll ever get him to admit it. 

Piccolo wept quietly into my chest for what seemed like hours. Crying for all the times he should've cried, but didn't. Gradually, his shoulders and back stopped heaving. The tautness in my tear-soaked shirt disappeared. I felt his hands slide up to my shoulders. He lifted his head and stared at my face. Piccolo's eyes were already starting to harden. He was retreating back into his protective iron shell. The tears still clinging to his cheeks betrayed him. 

I wound up smiling at him. Piccolo looked so precious, maybe even a little silly too - trying to look apathetic with tears all over his cheeks. Just like a little kid forgetting to wipe the crumbs off his chin after stealing his mother's cookies. 

"You're a mess." I rubbed his cheeks with my thumbs to brush away the tears. 

"...Feh." 

I leaned over and kissed the salty evidence of his crying off his cheeks. Slowly worked my way up to his moist eyelids. Then I followed the sharp slope of his nose and claimed his lips. It quickly heated up into a war between our tongues. Whether he knew it or not, Piccolo is a _great_ kisser no matter what form he's in. I became aware that his arms were suddenly around me and I was in his lap. 

My hands were all over him before I realized what I was doing. Our desperate kisses continued. They had no effect on Piccolo for obvious reasons, but I certainly felt hot under the collar. 

I sat up on my knees so I was a little 'taller' than him. My long hair spilled past my arms and brushed against his cheeks. 

Piccolo blinked up at me. "Cyndi, we can't...I'm not - " 

"Shh," I silenced him with a finger and slid down to sit again. Right where his arousal would've been. There was nothing there, I might as well be sitting on his stomach for all the difference it made. "I'm not looking for that. Just let me hold you for awhile, okay?" 

The handsome green man nodded. I settled against his chest and wrapped my arms around him. My head fit perfectly under his pointed chin. Piccolo didn't react to my embrace this time - except to swallow slowly and sigh. I think he was merely tolerating my affection rather than enjoying it. 

I thought my point was proven when Piccolo pushed me off and jumped to his feet. He looked around with a spooked look in his dark eyes. His jaw tightened. 

"Piccolo? What's wrong?" I stood beside him, gazing up at his emerald face. 

Piccolo gestured at me to shut up. He frowned and growled low in his throat, a shadow crossing his features. I watched him whip around to look behind him. Nothing there. V-shaped wrinkles appeared on the bridge of his pointed nose. His scowl deepened. "Cyndi, do you sense that?" 

"Sense what? Hang on, let me focus." I stared at the wall and focused on sensing energy. I noticed Piccolo easily since he was right beside me. His power felt warm, controlled and very familiar. Then came another feeling. It was cold like air blasted from a freezer. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I got that eerie feeling you get when someone walks over your grave. "Wait...I feel it! It's Void! I can't pinpoint her, though." 

Everything around us darkened like a movie theater when the lights go out. An immense air of foreboding trickled up my nerves. Piccolo seemed to be feeling it too. 

Sucking in a breath, the Namek hissed through his teeth, "Shit...this is bad, we have to get out of here NOW. Focus on - " 

His sentence was cut off by Void's sharp laugh. It came from everywhere, making my ears ring. I sensed her power increasing. Like her laughter, it was all over the place! A black and silver energy dome flickered into being around us. 

"Get down!" Piccolo shoved me to the floor and dropped down over my back. 

Then the world around us exploded. 


	10. Part Nine

Self-insertion, language and violence warning.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Nine

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Get down!" Piccolo shoved me hard to the ground. I landed heavily on my hands and knees and immediately assumed the 'duck-and-cover' position. Piccolo dropped over my back, his bulk easily covering me. I felt his power level shooting up. 

The energy all around screamed through my head. It was like that game at Disneyland where you grip two metal bars and try to hang on while weak electricity makes your wrists tingle. The tingling gets more intense the longer you hold on. It gets pretty maddening. If you hold on until the dial reaches the other end you get rewarded with flashing lights and bells. I felt like I had the metal bars stuck in my ears, up my nose and between my teeth and the dial was broken! ARGH! Make it stop! 

Then the world around Piccolo and I literally exploded. 

Everything turned white-hot. A deafening rumble slammed into my ears. The ground rippled. A shockwave slammed down like a sledgehammer. Piccolo tensed against me. I tensed against him. He said something that I couldn't hear over the confusing noise. All I know is he managed to pull up a ki barrier at the last freaking second. 

A terrible wind blew my bangs against my forehead. Smoke billowed all over the place. Dirty, smelly smoke that snuffed out all light, stung my eyes and made me cough. Some was Anime and some was Real...talk about weird! 

"Get up!" Piccolo hauled me painfully to my feet. 

I continued choking on the damn smoke. "What the hell just happened here?! Where's Void?" 

"I don't know," he admitted grudgingly. "I'm not liking this situation one bit." 

"You pathetic little fools, I'm right here!" 

A searing ball of purple ki dropped between Piccolo and I. The explosion threw us in completely opposite directions. More light and confusion. To make things worse, Void separated us! I couldn't see a thing or concentrate enough to "feel" who was where. All I had was my sense of hearing. At the moment it told me Void and Piccolo were grappling all over the place. 

How the heck was I supposed to fight in this condition?! 

Okay, I had to say SOMETHING tough. Me and my big mouth. "Void, you pussy! Stop hiding in the smoke and come fight the right way!" 

Piccolo broke in, "No, Cyndi you idiot!" 

"With pleasure..." Void's throaty voice was suddenly behind me. Before I could blink, a hand wrapped around my long hair. Like a cat grabbed by the scruff of the neck, I froze. Void lifted me painfully off the ground. I was terrified that my own weight would rip all my hair out by the roots. Fortunately it held, but I didn't dare move. I just stared into Void's cruel silver eyes and sneered. 

"You are such a pathetic creature, little girl." She slapped her other hand around my neck. Blood pulsed behind my eyes. My face felt swollen. I gurgled helplessly. The smoke around us stung my eyeballs like hot pokers. My lungs burned in their want for air. Dizziness set in. 

Only one thing left to do. I shaped my fingers into hooks and clawed desperately at her eyes. 

Void snarled and dropped me. She clutched at her face, her tail lashing wildly. "Argh! Stupid girl, I'll kill you for that!" 

Movement. A faint glow. 

"_Masenko-haaaaaa!_" Gold energy blasted through the smoke 

I dove out of the way. Due to the dizziness, I didn't jump straight. I landed on a couch instead of the ground. It knocked the wind right out of me - I just stayed there, gasping as I waited for my wits to return. 

Void was so distracted by the pain in her eyes that she didn't see the oncoming energy beam. 

**KA-BOOM!**

More smoke and confusion. No way to know how Void faired through that mess. Not that I cared, I was still smarting all over. Mainly my eyes, head and neck. 

"You have to learn when to keep your mouth shut," Piccolo's voice spoke from my left. "C'mon, kid, get up! We have to focus on breaking the trance." 

"Piccolo?" I turned over, rolling off the couch. The smoke was really making my eyes burn, I barely made out his shape. "This smoke is bad, I can't keep my eyes open!" 

Piccolo's hand grabbed my shoulder. "Just stay close to me. Void isn't far away, she's recovering...and waiting for a perfect moment to attack." 

The searing pain worsened. My eyes screwed shut on themselves so fiercely that I had no hope of forcing them open. Tears poured down my cheeks. "I can't see right now, my eyes can't take this!" 

"Grrr....okay. Hang onto my belt and stick close. She knows where we are in here..." His deep voice muffled as he turned his head. I didn't blame him if he was disappointed by my performance. "...here she comes!" 

I grabbed Piccolo's belt with both hands. Seconds later I felt an arm wrap around me. I was then treated to the most disorienting series of twists, flips and leaps that I've ever experienced. It drowned my sense of direction completely. Blistering explosions seemed to be on our heels at every landing. Piccolo stopped to throw a few blasts of his own. I just hung on for dear life while my heart pounded wildly in my chest. Concentrated on nothing but the flex of his muscles against my knuckles and sides. 

The jumping ceased. My confusion didn't. 

I reached up and rubbed furiously at my eyelids. The stinging grew maddening. My eyeballs felt like someone just wiped them with sandpaper. 

"Don't rub your eyes!" Piccolo snapped suddenly. "That'll make it worse! Didn't I teach you to keep your eyes narrow in smoky areas so your own tears will protect them?" 

"N-not that I remember." 

I felt a growl rumble down his side. "Well, next time make sure to keep your eyes narrow. Let your other senses work for you." 

"Where's Void?" 

"Preparing another offensive." A rustle sounded, "Focus, I'm taking us both out. We can't fight with you in this condition." 

Footsteps raced up behind us. They were far, but coming closer by the second. If Piccolo didn't hurry the hell up we were going to be ka-bobs on Void's tail! 

But I didn't need to worry. We were out of there long before she reached us.   
  


Never in my life have I ever been so relieved to feel something hard under my butt. Too bad my eyes still stung like hell. I wound up trying to rub them anyway, despite Piccolo's harsh warning not to. I had no choice! If they didn't burn, they itched! I swear the itch/pain was making me crazy! 

"Stop it!" Piccolo grabbed my wrists, "Your eyes are very swollen, Cyndi! Just stay here and let me prepare something to wash them out. Keep your hands off your face." His voice was intense and serious. The tone he takes on when he wants me to listen to him. I heard him grumble something about weak human eyes and shift a few things around. 

I could do nothing except sit and wait. Ugh. Whatever Piccolo planned on doing to cure me, it was probably gonna hurt. 

Water poured into something small. It sloshed a bit. Clinking noises. More sloshing. 

"Okay, now tilt your head back. This might sting like a bitch for a few minutes, but it'll go away." 

Tilting my head back like Piccolo told me to, I grumbled, "This probably wouldn't have happened if I was in my Anime form. As a Saiyajin I can gather my ki a lot easier!" 

"I don't think it would've mattered. She caught us both by surprise. Heh, I barely got that ki shield up in time." Cool, leathery fingers pressed down above and below my right eye. With one easy movement, Piccolo pried my eyelids open. It created a searing pain comparable to getting a paper cut. He snorted, "Yeah, they're pretty red, too. Don't worry though, you'll be okay. This isn't permanent damage." 

My vision was extremely bleary, like staring at a fogged up mirror after a shower. Piccolo's face was a sea of green with white on top and all around. I wondered if my eyeball was being shredded by a razor, that's sure what it felt like! The razor blade turned into a flaming sword when he started pouring thick liquid over my eye. This stuff stung worse than Visine on steroids! 

"Ouch..." I grabbed reflexively at Piccolo's wrist. The sting intensified, as did my whining, "AAH! OWWW! _OWWW! **OWWWW!!**_" My eyelids tried to screw shut, but Piccolo easily held them open. I winced as he performed the same operation on my other eye. _Perhaps this is divine revenge for breaking his legs two months ago_, I mused bitterly. 

Piccolo released my eyelids, letting them close tight. "There. Keep your eyes closed for at least fifteen minutes so these drops can dissolve the smoke particles and lessen the swelling. I'll check them again after the fifteen minutes are up and put more drops in if necessary. In the meantime, I'm taking you back into the living area." 

Strong arms slipped under my back and knees. I was lifted close to Piccolo's muscular chest. He carried me several feet and plopped me down on the soft bed. I bounced once on the springy mattress. 

"Hey," I grabbed his arm when I heard him moving away. 

"Yeah?" 

"How do you feel?" I let go after assuring myself that he wouldn't sneak off. For me, it was much easier to speak with him while my eyes were closed. I'm just weird that way. "I mean...now that you got rid of that pain, how do you feel?" 

Piccolo sighed, his voice moving to the foot of the bed. "I'll never be rid of the pain, Cyndi. But it's a little easier to deal with since I've shared it." A pause, probably to gather his thoughts. Perhaps he found it easier to talk to me when I couldn't see his face, too. 

The mattress sagged. I heard a faint grunt. Piccolo's solid form settled down right next to me. I knew without looking that he was resting on his side with his cheek propped on his palm...same pose he assumed in the grass at the party just after Goku beat Buu. He continued, "In all my life, I've never told anyone about it, not even Gohan. I didn't think anybody would understand." 

"I do." 

He spoke softly, "I know." 

Right then I wished I could see his face. I did the next best thing and reached a hand out to touch his warm cheek. Piccolo's face is as familiar to me as my own. "You know...I remember the first time I saw you. It was a picture on someone's website. Ohh...about four years ago in my world. I used to Role Play as a centaur-like alien, an Andalite. Her name was Semeir-Cooraf-Armaheen...and one of the buddies I RP'ed with played a Namek named Aesh...spelled A-E-S-H, not A-S-H...and a Saiyajin named Magus Krail. I watched Dragon Ball Z once to see Goku, since Magus's character was based off him. It was in the middle of the Freeza Saga, before Goku landed on Namek. So I, you know, didn't see him or understand what the heck I was watching. I saw Freeza though...even thought he was a woman at first because of his voice. But his body shape said otherwise." 

"Oh?" 

"Mmhmm," I sighed at the nostalgia washing over me. This was the first time I ever told anyone about any of this. "A few weeks later I checked out the Namek character's profile picture, but it was too small to see your face in detail...so I went to the website the picture belonged to and found a clear one. You were standing sideways in front of a gold background with your arms crossed and the wind blowing your cape behind you. The picture also had your name written in Japanese down one side." My cheeks gained warmth as I went on, "I just had to find out more about that strange green man in the picture, so I did some reading to learn a little about you. Then I checked my listings and turned my TV on at the appropriate time...and there you were. You and Goku were just taking off your weighted gear to fight Radditz." I dropped my tone a few octaves and did my best imitation of Piccolo's deep, breathy voice, "'What am I, your tailor?'" 

Long moments of silence settled. Piccolo digested what I'd told him...he didn't say anything until I did my pathetic little impression. He laughed at it, a soft, rich sound. I could tell by the way it was muffled that he'd been laughing with his mouth closed. "You're one strange person, kid. But in a good way." He inhaled noisily, "What _do_ you see in me anyway?" 

The question was so unexpected that I nearly fell off the bed. I choked on my own spit and coughed, and almost jerked my eyes open to stare incredulously at him. The sting stopped me. "Did...did I just hear you right?" 

"You did," Piccolo replied, sounding very serious. His eyes were probably staring right at my face. I must've looked so dorky, trying to create a surprised expression with my eyes shut. 

I thought for a long time. Chose my words carefully, though it would be tough to explain. "Well...the first thing I fell for was your face. You looked so unique next to everyone else. Then I saw what you did for Gohan, I read more about you and the feelings got deeper. I went crazy over your personality and the way you talked. And look at how you've changed over the years. You used to be so hateful and now...now you care about others." I blushed even more, "Everything about you is just....so wonderful. The more I've become familiar with you, the more I realize you're like me, or vice versa. So far you're the only person I know that seems to understand me." 

"Life's funny that way, isn't it?" Piccolo commented dryly. He shifted his weight and continued, "Try opening your eyes now and let me see how they look." 

How odd! While Piccolo and I were talking, the pain slipped away. At least when I kept my eyes shut. I swallowed hard and lifted my eyelids, expecting knives to stab my skull. There was only a faint sting. Piccolo's blurry face slowly came into crystal clear focus. He was a lot closer than I thought. 

Piccolo tipped my chin up and tilted his head for a better view. He curled his lips into a mild smirk. "Look up so I can see the whites of your eyes better - okay. Still a little on the red side, but that'll heal on its own. You're lucky, kid. Another ten minutes in that and you might've been in worse shape. Never open your eyes wide to try and see through smoke." 

"Sure, sure." I wiped some goop off my cheek grinned. "Hey! How come you're not the one all beat up on MY birthday?" 

"Maybe because you wasted your chance two months ago?" He nudged me so hard I almost rolled off the mattress. 

"That's it!" I pounced on Piccolo and dug my fingers into his ribs. I was attached to him pretty good this time, he couldn't push me off as easily. "I sentence thee to tickle torture until you say 'Cyndi rules the universe!'" 

Piccolo's eyes opened wide and I heard him make a hilarious little squeaking noise. He looked ready to kill me, just like the first time I attacked him like this. He grabbed at my wrists and kicked his legs. But I'd positioned myself just right - he couldn't kick or toss me off no matter how much he struggled. All he managed was to squirm helplessly, trying with all his might to retain a straight face. 

Finally his face twisted into a look of flush-faced mirth. He broke into a huge grin that showed off his sharp fangs. "Stop! Get...off...me! Get...off...MWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" He succumbed to uncontrollable laughter. No quiet rumble this time, he exploded! 

I did it! I made Piccolo crack up! 

I kept tickling his ribs between giggles. "Say 'Cyndi rules the universe' and I'll stop! Come on now! Say it!" 

Piccolo gasped, "Never! Mmmph!" He tried so hard to keep his voice steady, but wound up snorting really loud instead. It sounded like a fart. That made me laugh harder. Piccolo took the opportunity to wrap his legs around my shoulders and pull me backwards. My feet went straight up in the air. He pinned my legs against his body and dragged his fingers torturously slow over the soles of my feet. 

I was barefoot. I have very ticklish feet. Piccolo had my legs perfectly immobile and my upper body pinned down. Helpless, I was helpless! 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and squirmed around. All I could do was beat on his legs - as if THAT would do any good! The torture continued. "NOOOOOOOOO WAAAHAHAHAHA! NO FAIR!!! AHAHAHAHAAA!!" 

The Namek just grinned menacingly down at me, "You started it." He tickled me some more. One foot. The other. Then both. No mercy at all! "Had enough yet?" 

"Yes!" I shrieked, just so he'd let go. As soon as he did, I snagged a fluffy pillow from under the blankets and smacked Piccolo's face with it. "I lied! Come get me, you overgrown green bean!" I laughed and jumped off the bed, running for my life into the Anime half of the room to find a hiding place. 

"Is that a challenge?!" Piccolo shouted at my back. 

"You bet your ass it is!" 

Now where to hide? I chose a high place - the roof of the living area. Piccolo wouldn't find me there! 

BONK! 

A pillow hit me so hard I fell on my face. Piccolo snickered behind me, "You can't hide from me until you learn to suppress your ki signature, kid. You're too predictable. Nice try, though." 

"Grrr..." I lunged right off the floor and nailed him in the face again. He retorted with another swipe to the head. Back down I went. This guy doesn't play nice, does he? "This reminds me of our last pillow fight here...heheh...remember?" 

"Yeah." Piccolo smirked. "I remember - " 

I jumped up and pointed frantically at the air behind him, "OH MY GOD!! WHAT'S THAT?!" 

"Huh?" He fell for it! I nailed him HARD and leapfrogged over his prostrate form. I was back in my half of the room and hiding under the bed before Piccolo even knew what hit him. He'll never fit under here with me! 

That's the one thing I love about being small - the ability to hide in weird places. Beds weren't made to hide seven-foot-tall green men. 

Several moments went by. I watched Piccolo's big brown-shoed feet walk silently into the living area. He was in the wrong side of the room to begin with. Probably trying to sense my presence. Ha! Without the necklace, my human ki is pretty weak. I doubt Piccolo would feel me out. 

I suppressed a snicker. The slipper-shoes walked over and stopped, heels facing the bed I was hiding under. Just inches from my face. I heard Piccolo muttering under his breath. 

Now to spring my surprise! 

"Hah!" I wrapped my arms around Piccolo's ankles, effectively startling him. I swear, that surprised grunting noise he makes is too funny. "Gotcha!" 

"Oof!" Piccolo wiggled his ankles, but I just held on tighter. He bent down and glared daggers at me, "Hey!" 

"I have you now!" 

The green man smirked, "Is that so?" 

Before I could say anything, I felt the ground slipping beneath me. I was being dragged forward and...up?! 

Piccolo easily left the ground with me dangling off his ankles. Letting go wasn't an option, we were hovering near the ceiling at least twenty feet up! Piccolo then proceeded use his long legs like a catapult to flip me forward so I was laying across them. I ended up hugging his limbs like a tree branch so I wouldn't fall and break my neck. 

"Must I remind you that I never back down from a challenge?" Piccolo mocked. I looked up in time to see he still had his pillow. He grinned at me, held the pillow above his head with both hands and brought it down right on my cranium. 

BOOF!! 

The pillow exploded. Feathers went flying and fluttered down in a shower of white. 

Piccolo just lost his "weapon". But I still had mine. Somehow I managed to hang onto it during my surprise ascent. 

I clutched the feather and cloth object tighter in my fingers. "Nice hit. But guess what? I still have my pillow! Hiiiiiiyaaaaaah!" I swung the pillow left and right, smacking him on both cheeks. Then I smashed it down on top of his head. 

BOOF!! 

More feathers went flying, but most landed on Piccolo. Some clung to his upper lip and chin - which made me burst out laughing. He looked like a green Santa! 

"You do realize..." The feathers wiggled when Piccolo's lips moved, "...that this was entirely pointless." Then he chuckled, his granite eyes shining. He picked the wispy white objects off his face. "I don't know why I let you sucker me into such foolishness." 

"Maybe it's because you really want to have fun and you know I won't think you're acting weird for it?" 

Piccolo shook his head, shrugging. "Maybe your crazy attitude is rubbing off on me." 

That made me laugh, "I'm the only person that seems capable of making you goof off. It's just more fun when I succeed because you're always so serious all the time. Hehe!" 

"Whatever. I think you missed a dose of your medicine." 

I checked my watch. "Oh God, you're right! No wonder I'm so overly hyper! Let's get down so I can take my pill and chill out. Otherwise I'll get angry over something stupid and really make an ass of myself." 

He mumbled, "As if you haven't already." 

"Meh!" I stuck my tongue out at him. 

Piccolo wrinkled his nose and muttered something else about childish silliness. He bent over, grabbed me under the armpits and quickly descended back to the floor. We touched down gently amidst a sheet of swirling feathers. Ah, if I was a guy it probably would've made a great picture for a yaoi doujinshi cover. 

Piccolo didn't let me go right after landing, which was odd. He shifted a hand up to the back of my head and pressed my forehead softly against his stomach. I felt his long fingers trail down the length of my hair. Some strands came free of his grasp and fell into place over my back. He did this several times, picking my hair up and letting it fall. It amazed me that a hand capable of severing limbs could be so gentle. I turned my head a little so my cheek touched his stomach and looked the long way up at his face. Piccolo's face held an expression as serene as when he slept. His eyes stared ahead, faraway, making me wonder what he was thinking. He looked so youthful, ageless and...happy. 

With a characteristic abruptness, Piccolo stepped back and said, "I'm going to train a bit in the void. Join me if you feel up to it. Otherwise, I'll be back in a few hours." He offered no explanation for his action, nor did I ask for one. 

"Okay." I missed his touch already. "Hey! Who's gonna clean up all these feathers, huh?" 

Piccolo smirked and lifted a finger. A huge breeze blasted through the living area, blowing the soft white objects out into the void. "Better?" 

"Coooooooool!" I applauded him. 

The tall Namek released a sigh and slipped past me without another word. His cape brushed my face when he went by, still carrying that scent of desert dust and salt. 

_Yeah, you go do your dance, sexy man._ I thought with a grin. 

_I heard that._ Piccolo looked over his shoulder and raised an eyeridge at me. 

I lifted my eyebrow back at him, blushing profusely._ "_Bah! Get outta my head, Piccolo!" 

"You're the one that spoke to mine, kid. You forget that I can hear it if you think in words_."_ He shook his head, snickered at my red face and continued on his way.   
  


I stood in front of the bathroom mirror in the Anime side of the room, my tail twisting behind me. Staring dejectedly at my uncontrollable Saiyajin hair. Fate wasn't kind to me, I didn't have a cool, punkish hairdo like Radditz. No awesome spikes trailing down my back. I looked like Yajirobe's long lost sister. My hair looked EXACTLY like his, but longer with a few strands framing my narrow face. 

Oh well, at least it stayed brown. I still looked like me, just with a tail, black eyes and a scroungy 'do. 

Saiyajin hair is very coarse and wiry. Completely opposite to the softness of a human's. Each strand hangs in whatever direction the follicle points. For Vegeta, the follicles point straight up, hence his flaming hairdo. In my case, they went everywhere, thus the wild 'do. Its weight is the only reason it still hung down to my knees. Good thing I'm used to the weight of long hair or I'd go nuts. This hair would probably weigh a ton to me if I was human, though, since my Real hair isn't super thick. 

"Aye, yi, yi." 

Piccolo's image appeared in the mirror. His voice rumbled softly, reverberating through the room, "Something wrong?" 

"This hair!" I grabbed a handful and turned around to face him, "I look like Yajirobe's skinny twin sister! Why couldn't I get a cool hairstyle like Radditz or Gohan? I look so ugly like this!" I faced the mirror again, snagged a black scrunchie and tied my wild locks into a ponytail. That seemed a little better. Nothing could be done for my bangs, they'd just have to stick up in weird directions. 

The Namek leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. He seemed amused by my outburst. "I don't think it looks that bad on you. It could've been worse." 

"How would you know? You don't even _have_ hair!" I snarled and threw the hairbrush at his head. He caught it easily and tossed it back. I snatched the brush from the air, dropping it on the countertop. 

"Well..." Piccolo smirked, tipping his head, "You certainly have a Saiyajin temper. Even in your human form." 

Turning back to the mirror, I huffed. "Hmph." 

At least I chose a fashionable T-shirt to match this form. The shirt is plain white with _I'm 51% sweetheart and 49% bitch, don't push it!_ written in bright red letters across the front. No bra, of course, I loathe them and avoid wearing one if I can get away with it. Why wear a bra if I don't have boobs anyway? 

Piccolo lifted an eyeridge. He came over behind me and studied my reflection. "I still don't understand why you females are so obsessed with appearances. A lot of the women I've seen change their hair color and style every year. Others place jewelry in places it doesn't belong, some color their nails and still more wear revealing clothes. Why all the fuss?" 

I laughed, unable to avoid it. Sometimes he can sound so innocent! "Well, I guess women just like to look pretty so they can catch a man's eye. It's all about a perfect complexion, a curvy figure and nice hair...wait. Let me show you something." 

I dashed from the bathroom, grabbed a magazine from my backpack and ran back. Right on the cover was a picture of Lara Croft wearing a black bikini and holding her twin pistols. "This is the ideal beauty. Big breasts and a flat stomach. Long legs. Big hips. She's a video game character that runs through tombs and solves puzzles. She does some fighting too." 

Slowly, Piccolo took the magazine from my grasp and examined the cover. Then he smirked, shaking his head. "It doesn't look very natural." 

"I know, but that's what most men find attractive and what women want to look like. If it's not Lara, it's Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears or Jay-Lo...all of which are celebrities that I'm not fond of." Turning around, I examined my reflection in the mirror for the millionth time. "Now YOU, on the other hand," I giggled, "....heheh...you have a perfectly appealing body. Defined muscles, sharp features...men would kill to have your body. All the girls who love you in my world go crazy when your shirt gets torn and we can see your stomach and chest. Heh, just taking off your cape and turban so we can see your pecs makes some of us crazy. Me included." 

Piccolo's cheeks took on a faint purple hue. He rumbled wordlessly, cleared his throat and dropped the magazine on the countertop. "Well...looks aren't everything, you know. But if you're that concerned, let's just say I don't see anything wrong with your appearance." 

My cheeks flushed bright red. I linked my fingers together shyly and stared down at the counter, "So you're saying you think I'm pretty?" 

"Yeah, I guess so," He stated simply without showing a smile or sneer. But I knew he would never lie. Only Piccolo could get away with a statement like that and keep a straight face. 

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to cry. To hear the person I adore saying he thought I was pretty did wonders for my self-esteem. If _Piccolo_ thinks I'm attractive...then maybe I really am. 

I applied some fire engine red lipstick and climbed onto the countertop. Planted a big smooch on Piccolo's cheek, leaving a nice red lip-smack. "Thanks, big guy, hearing that from you meant a lot to me." 

"Heh, sure." Piccolo spied his reflection and the little mark I left behind. He swiped it with the back of his hand - and smeared it. He growled comically at it. A lot of rubbing finally removed the stain. "Okay, enough of this mushy stuff! Time to train again. It's only going to get tougher from here on out." 

The Saiyajin instinct kicked in. This was a challenge. I lived for being challenged! 

"Let's do it! If Void interrupts us this time...heh...I'll make her wish she was never born." 

A hand smacked the back of my head. I fell over with spirals for eyes. Piccolo loomed over me with his arms crossed, frowning. "Quit being so cocky! Just get out into the void." 

I got up and rubbed my head, "Party pooper." 

"Feh." Turning from me, Piccolo made a beeline for the white void. 


	11. Part Ten

Self-insertion, language, MILD lemon and violence warning.   
I'd also like to take a moment and extend my thanks to everyone who sends me reviews. You are all proving to be awesome Believers! ^_^\/   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Ten

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"This will not be as simple as last time," Piccolo explained to me. "What we did before was mere child's play. This time we're going to a time and place in our memories. Anywhere, anytime you want. You will probably be the age you were when the memory was created in your mind. That's okay...just make sure you don't forget it isn't real." 

We were sitting knee-to-knee in the Anime half of the room, the white floor glowing below us. It was cold, unlike last time. I struggled to avoid shivering with all my might. 

"Well...what if I DO forget it isn't real?" 

Piccolo leveled his eyes with mine, frowning, "I'm not sure. I will be delving into my own memory as well. We may just meet up somewhere in the middle. Since my mindpower is stronger than yours, we'll probably see more of my memories than yours, but that'll work. Heh," Half his mouth quirked into a wry smirk, "This is the first time I've ever trained someone else while training myself. That old bastard Kami is a..." 

"Plethora of knowledge?" I butted in, grinning and leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. 

Nodding his head, Piccolo sighed through his nose, "I suppose. What are you? A walking dictionary?" 

"Heh, maybe. Are you smart?" 

"Of course," he snapped. 

"Then spell it." 

"I-T." Piccolo rolled his eyes at me, "I heard that un-original joke from King Kai." He clenched his teeth and growled, obviously running low on patience, "Now let's quit messing around and get to our training! Remember, you may forget you're dreaming when you enter whichever memory you choose. You may even forget everything you knew after the memory took place. The trick is realizing it's not real. This is a tough one, kid. We might be children when we find each other." 

I clasped my hands in my lap and gushed, "Aww, seeing you as a child would be sweet!" 

"No, it wouldn't. You forget I was evil before I met Gohan. If my memory regresses, I might attack you," said Piccolo tersely. "Then again, I might remember something nicer. Never know." 

That made me laugh. "Heheh, prepare to enter the Nexus." 

Piccolo arched an eyeridge. 

"Nevermind...you'd have to see _Star Trek: Generations_ to understand what I'm talking about. Basically it's a place where time has no meaning and you can live any kind of life you want - or go back and re-live your past, maybe doing things differently. But when you get there, you don't _care_ about where you came from. It's like Heaven." 

My Namekian friend didn't look too pleased with my incessant babble. He roughly grabbed my hands, closed his fingers around them and hissed at me, "Stop stalling! You always talk when you should be focusing!" His tone cooled, "Let's begin our meditation. I don't want to hear you say another word until we meet in the trance." 

Will I ever learn? 

"Another word." I smirked and closed my eyes. 

Piccolo backhanded me hard across the mouth. He grabbed my shirt so I wouldn't go flying and yanked me angrily forward. His coal-black eyes smoldered and his jaw muscles tightened. For a moment there was only the warm puff of his breath on my cheek and the anger in his eyes. Then he spoke, growling, "Listen here and listen good! This training is serious business. I don't have time for your childish antics! We've wasted enough time fooling around! Now if you don't mind..." he pushed me roughly back and resumed his meditative pose, "...I'd like to get started." 

I felt as if a heavy boulder just dropped into the pit of my stomach. My eyes welled up and my lower lip pushed itself slightly outwards. The goofy elation bubble swelling inside me popped. I became listless and fiddled with my furry Saiyajin tail. Didn't dare look up at Piccolo's scowling face. 

Whenever I get in trouble, I sulk like a humiliated cat that fell off its perch. I'm a master of all forms of pouting, sulking and other pity-worthy behavior. Maybe if Piccolo noticed my misery, he'd cool down. 

_Au contraire._

Pouting never worked on my dad. It didn't work on Piccolo either. 

"Stop sulking, you look pathetic." 

I glowered at him. 

He glared right back and bared his teeth. "Don't give me that look. The only way you'll satisfy me is to cooperate so we can get this training out of the way. Now wipe that sissy expression off your face...or I'll remove it with my fist. Don't you dare start crying either. You won't like what I'll do to you." 

Another adrenalin burst dropped more weight into my belly. No other options but to comply...while giving him the silent treatment. I sullenly scooted forward until my knees touched his and held out my hands. 

Piccolo ignored my silence. He roughly interlocked his fingers with mine. "Now sift through your memories and let one come forward. Focus on it." 

We both closed our eyes and drifted into the trance.   
  


I stood, staring in awe at a person I barely recognized. She wore a sleeveless, powder-blue A-line gown that reached to the floor. It was made of chiffon with a small rhinestone-studded bow in front to mark the waistline. This girl also wore sparkling silver shoes and satin elbow-length gloves. Clip-on crystal earrings with a matching necklace added punch to the outfit. Her make-up was perfect and her hair...it was gorgeous too. Some piled on her head while the rest cascaded down her back in waves of brown. 

That other person was me. My reflection. I couldn't believe my eyes! How could that be me? 

"Mom..." A lump welled in my throat, "This is the night I've been waiting four years for, since I started high school...now it's here. I'm actually going to the Prom! I feel like Cinderella!" I wanted to twirl, but I didn't dare risk ruining my hair or the dress. 

Mom stood back and admired me. Her blue eyes were misting over. Even she couldn't believe how much I'd transformed over the last few hours. "You look perfect! Stay here and I'll go see if Charles is ready yet." 

"Okay." 

My mom slipped through the bedroom door and pulled it shut behind her, leaving me in my own dreamy world. Charles...I met him in Junior High and we've been a couple ever since. People are always shocked when I tell them he's been my boyfriend for almost five years now. Of course, Charles can't drive yet, so it's not like we could just jump off to the movies or whatever. We mostly hung out in my room and played video games(he always won). 

I also thought about how lucky I'd been to find this dress. A school friend of mine named Tawny and I were just fooling around at the mall while my mom finished her coffee in Carl's Jr.. I dragged Tawny with me into the dress shop to show her a dress my mom tried on me earlier...but it didn't fit. So we decided to mess around, trying on dresses just to see how they looked. I snatched up the powder-blue one, tried it on and went into shock. 

I have such a cool mom. I screamed at Tawny to please hold onto my treasure and ran out of the store to go tell my mom about the dress. She marched back in there with me and bought it right there! The high price didn't bother her at all because she knew this was more important to me than anything in the world. 

The door slipped open, interrupting my thoughts. It was my dad this time. He shut the door behind him and stared down at me. I saw tears in his eyes. 

"Wow...you'll be the prettiest woman there!" 

"Ah, daddy!" I playfully swatted his arm. "How does Charles look?" 

"Well," he opened the door and ushered me out, "Go out in the living room and take a look for yourself." 

Anticipation made the hallway seem miles long. Standing still so Mom could take a photo only made the wait more torturous. 

There was only the rustling of my chiffon gown as I entered the living room. Late afternoon sunlight painted a gold swath across the end of the hall. It lit the room nicely. Charles stood with his back to me. I surveyed what I could - he wore a black zoot suit without pin stripes. His dark hair(streaked with blonde) was slicked back and shiny. 

I stopped in the sunlight for maximum effect and suppressed a gasp, "Oh my God, is that Charles?!" 

Charles faced me, blinked a few times and smiled, looking gorgeous in his formal attire. It complimented his football jock-type build very well. He was a handsome young man of Italian descent with tan skin, chocolate-colored eyes, "devilish" eyebrows and a mischievous smile. 

"Hey, where'd Cyndi go?" Charles teased me. 

"Oh, you!" I rushed over and gave him a tight hug. Charles hugged back a little shyly, probably afraid he'd spoil my carefully-styled hair. 

Mom tapped my boyfriend's shoulder, "Charles, the corsage?" 

Charles held up the delicate plastic box. It held a white rose surrounded by blue ribbon and baby's breath. "Oh yeah, it's right here." He opened the container, stepped forward and pinned it gently to my dress. "There you go." 

"Thanks." I stared up at his face. "Any second now...the camera is gonna start flashing..." 

As if to prove my point, I heard my mom say, "Smile!" 

We faced the camera and grinned, our eyes shining. The flash seemed unusually bright. By the time my eyes readjusted, I wasn't standing in my living room anymore. 

The forest surrounded me. Sunbeams filtered through the leaves. I peeked around a tree and tried to figure out where the hell I was. How weird I must have looked - all decked out in a prom dress in the middle of a forest! An Anime forest, no less. Lively violin music filtered through the air from my right. People clapped and laughed. Voices drifted through the trees. I turned towards the sound and peeked through the foliage. 

I saw many people that seemed vaguely familiar. All in a group, watching two people. It clicked when I moved closer. 

A flash of white, then another of black. Videl in a lacy white wedding gown that made her look angelic. And Gohan in an awesome black tuxedo that(surprisingly) didn't look dorky on him. He and Videl were dancing around to the music while the rest of the Z-gang cheered them on. 

Well, almost all. 

Piccolo stood all by himself under the flowered archway, completely separated from the rest of the group. Man, I wish I had a camera to capture his look, he was so dashing! He wore a dark stone-gray tux with a cutaway tailcoat, a white wing-collar shirt and slacks creased perfectly in the front. I stood there and stared at him while he scuffed his shiny shoes against the grass. 

Seeing Piccolo look like THAT made me forget I was supposed to be mad at him. 

"Hey." I slipped through the trees like I belonged there, "You look like your date ditched you." 

The Namek's eyes glued themselves on me. He looked me up and down slowly, then quirked his mouth into a smirk. "I didn't ask to be part of this. But Gohan insisted I be the best man in his wedding and since it was important to him....ah well, I'm here. What are you doing?" 

"I...don't know how I got here. Two minutes ago I was having my picture taken with my first boyfriend. As you can see, we were heading to the Prom." A smile tugged at my lips, what a stir it would've caused if I'd taken Piccolo to the Prom all those years ago. 

The violin music slowed and grew more distant. I gazed up at Piccolo's face, "Let's dance." 

Piccolo sweatdropped, "I...don't...dance!" 

"Awwww come on...." 

"No. Even if we did, you're too short and it'd be awkward." 

"Hmph. My Prom date was taller than I by several inches and we danced just fine." As if on cue, I was back with Charles again, only this time we were at the actual Prom. It took place at Springfield Mansion(a place in California). The last song, Lady In Red by Chris DeBurgh, played softly in the background. Charles and I were on the outside balcony - the only couple out there. The stars shone above us. Nothing in the universe existed except for the two of us, the stars and the music. The night of May twenty-third, nineteen ninety-eight was the most romantic night of my teenage life. 

The only difference was I saw Piccolo standing in a corner of the balcony, watching me sway gently with my first boyfriend. His attire made it seem like he belonged there. When the memory ended, Piccolo and I were back in the forest. He was once again standing next to a floral arch in the sunlight. 

Piccolo remained stubborn as ever, "Still, it would be impossible. That boy was inches taller than you. We have a height difference of two feet." 

"So?" I crossed my arms, shaking my head with a sigh. My hairspray-leaden hair rustled unnaturally. "Bah, humbug on you then." 

Piccolo turned without another word and disappeared among the thick trees surrounding the clearing. How rude! He didn't even tell me he was leaving! Now I had to go chasing after him in an eighty-five dollar dress. That may not seem like much to some of you, but to my working-class family it took a huge chunk from our wallets. 

And then, suddenly...I didn't have a dress on anymore. Just my normal sweats and T-shirt. My hair remained stiff, although this time it wasn't due to hairspray. Being in Anime form made me feel a LITTLE better. I just wished the damn tail would stop twitching. 

I was standing in the middle of a decimated city with empty clothes littering the street around me. Weird, unidentifiable scents permeated the air. Everything was eerily silent. The pattering of an abandoned parasol created a deafening clamor as the wind rolled it across my path. 

_Of course...this must be Piccolo's first meeting with Cell!_

If that wasn't weird enough...some of the clothes on the ground belonged to people I knew! My mom's distinctive teddy bear T-shirt, blue pants and cigarette case. My dad's empty Levis, his bifocals, white shirt and custom-made black leather boots. A few blue choir robes with clothes inside. Oh man! 

Cold chills bit into my spine. I shuddered involuntarily and hugged myself. Uncomfortable weight pressed against the pit of my stomach from the inside. "Piccolo, if you're here somewhere...this is too creepy! I want out! Get me out of here!" 

Nothing. 

Then I felt an electric tingle prickle through my face. Lucky for me, I knew what it meant this time. 

Gathering my energy, I blasted off like a rocket long before the explosion. I was so busy looking down at the rising smoke that I didn't notice the large and VERY BLACK object floating in my path. 

Ka-**_SMACK!_**

I recoiled as if I'd smashed into a steel wall. My entire nose turned red and tears stung in my eyes. The impact sent vibrations through my skull, which probably sent my brain ricocheting around like a rubber ball in a fishbowl. Owwwww! Good thing brains don't feel actual pain! 

"Ouch!" I grabbed the sore spots. 

Void drifted closer, laughing at me. "Didn't Piccolo teach you to watch where you're going?" 

A quick double axe-handle punch sent me smashing through three different buildings. Brick, cement and glass shattered around me with a deafening roar. Layers of dust settled on my clothes and in my hair, making me sneeze. Had I been in my Real form...well...let's just say I wouldn't be in one piece after a smack like that. Since I wasn't, I was able to get up. 

And fell down again. 

My second attempt at standing succeeded. I shook the glass and other broken crap off my hair and clothes. Focused on drawing the energy inside me to the surface. It made my muscles tighten and tingle. I just let it rise like bubbles in champagne and screamed to my heart's content. Just for the record...I don't scream like I'm constipated. I just...scream. Period. It's involuntary. 

Last time Void caught me, I wasn't ready. I was this time. Oh I was sooooo ready! 

The air around me crackled to life. Gravel, glass and cement lost touch with gravity. Everything within a ten-foot radius of me went flying into the air. I giggled madly as I watched random objects get flung away. So this is what a tornado feels like when it's blowing stuff up! 

"Hey, Void! Come and get me you ugly piece of shit! I'm waiting!" I hopped from foot to foot, grinning maliciously. Void was a challenge. I lived to be challenged. The desire to fight reached an almost maddening peak. Think of a food you always crave...it doesn't go away until you eat what your body wants, right? 

Void dropped down into the spiraling dust. "Gladly..." 

Then she started gathering her power. Except while I made a few chunks of debris fly away....she blasted a new crater into the dirt. 

_No, you will not upstage my power!_

Growling, I dug deep and pulled more energy forth. The ground distorted under my feet. I felt my hair blowing wildly behind me. With a tremendous scream I let my ki reach its pinnacle. 

Void was on her ass when I came to my senses again. I'd blown her backwards! 

Another figure came into focus behind her. A very handsome and green figure. He'd already shed his cape and turban. Two fingers were pressed to his forehead. His fingertips glowed a brilliant gold. Blue electric sparks buzzed around the gathering energy. 

Piccolo touched a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. Void stood up without paying any mind to my brief lapse in eye-contact. 

"Ooooh you're going to pay for that, little girl! Prepare to DIE!" She charged me full-on, leaving dust in her wake. 

We locked hands and struggled for superiority. Just like wrestlers, only this wasn't for show. Void had a huge height advantage over me. She had no trouble forcing me to my knees. There was no way I'd be able to overpower her this way. All I could do was tolerate being shoved harder against the uneven dirt. If I stopped her she'd notice Piccolo...and if I knew him as much as I think I did, he wanted his attack to be a surprise. 

Piccolo's power rose higher. I couldn't avoid grinning a little as Void pressed me harder against the shattered earth. Her hands started to crush mine. Gravel dug into my knees. The pain delighted me in a sick way. A small part of me trembled in fear...what if she killed me before Piccolo finished gathering his power? 

Void and I continued our struggle. The ground bowed out below us, the distortion growing steadily larger. High winds flung more debris skyward. And I enjoyed every minute of it! Locked in battle with something capable of wiping me from existence...how utterly exhilarating! 

"_Mankankosappo!_" 

Before Void could react, I used her grip as leverage and slid down under her legs. Piccolo's awesome swirling fireball smashed into her back. It didn't quite penetrate. It did, however, send Void flying. 

With me still attached. 

"Cyndi! Let go!" 

"I can't! She has me!" 

BOOM! 

Void and I landed in a jumbled heap with me on top. I wrenched free and flipped away. The black creature took a swing. I dodged easily. 

Suddenly another hand grabbed my arm. I was yanked painfully backwards. Just in time to avoid a sparkling ki wall that incinerated everything surrounding Void within a five-foot radius. 

"Ack! Piccolo, you're a lifesaver!" I wrapped my arms around Piccolo's narrow waist. 

Piccolo touched my back, but didn't take his eyes off Void. He wore a frown that created V-shaped folds on the bridge of his teardrop-shaped nose. Sweat layered his exposed skin, some of which was scraped up. I guess Piccolo had a little scuffle with Void before I ran into her. 

"That was close," the Namek muttered. "I was afraid I'd end up impaling both of you." 

I laughed at him, "I'm not Goku." 

"Shh! Get ready. I'm taking us out." He dropped his voice to a whisper, "She's still too much for us both. I tried to fight her a few minutes ago and she hammered me." 

Only Piccolo could leave a conversation hanging with a comment like that. I stepped from his half-hug and faced Void again. She was on her feet again, looking quite peeved. Heh, I love pissing people off! 

"I can take her." 

The strong hand clamped down HARD on my shoulder, punctuated by a growl, "No, don't even THINK about it, Cyndi! We're leaving!" 

"Fine!" 

Piccolo lowered his head and made a small humming noise. After a few seconds, he disappeared. 

But I didn't. 

Don't ask me why, I don't know. I'd been focusing on waking up just as intently as he was. I might as well have been locked in a cage full of hungry tigers! 

Void looked pretty pleased when she saw Piccolo vanish. "Just you and me now..." 

"Yeah, that's just - " 

She disappeared. Something harder than iron smashed into my back. I hit the uneven dirt hard. Dust stung in my eyes and tickled my nose. I groaned, pushing myself up. Void's huge foot pushed me right down again. She treated my head like a cigarette being smooshed out. 

The worst thing is I couldn't gather up my energy. All sense of concentrating had left me. I needed a weapon or something to help me! 

Piccolo's voice reached me from far off. Too garbled to be understood. I think he was yelling at me to focus. No...more than that. Something about feathers? Wait! 

_...m ....er.... ge... ...m... ....er..._

Void's foot compressed my neck at an uncomfortable angle. I winced and shouted something obscene at her. She laughed at my weakness. 

"Are you ready to die, little girl? Ready to look your God in the face and tell him you failed?" 

Something faded into view just inches beyond my reach. A tiny round object with blue feathers - Piccolo's dream catcher! I squeezed my eyes shut and stretched an arm out. It rested tantalizingly close, yet so far. Pain wracked my bicep muscle. At the same time, I felt Void's metallic stinger press down just under my ribcage. If she impales me she's gonna go right through my kidney! 

_Come on! Damn my shortness!_ I screamed mentally. I stretched my arm until I thought every muscle would rupture. My fingertips brushed the soft feathers. Bingo! 

A flick of my wrist flipped the dream catcher into my hand. I answered Void's 'question' with a smile, "Not as ready as you are to suck Satan's dick in Hell!" Then I pressed the dream catcher against her foot. It sizzled like meat on a grill. I could actually smell her skin burning! Worse than burnt hair. Nasty! 

Void sprang off my back, screaming in pain and clutching her smoking right foot. 

I got up and laughed my ass off. "What's the matter? Got a little hot-foot? There's ointment for that, you know. WAHAHA!" 

"You!" She narrowed her eyes at me. 

I held up the dream catcher. "Want some more of this?" 

Void stopped hopping and eyed the woven object in my hand. She favored the burnt foot a little. Anger swirled in her cold mercury-silver eyes. She called forth a misty aura and rose into the air, "This isn't over!" With a blast of ki, Void shot over my head and disappeared in the distance. 

She RAN!!!   
  


I came to my senses in a daze. Dull aches and sharp pains surfaced where I'd been injured during the fight. Piccolo's hands detached from my narrow shoulders and let me go. I toppled backwards, exhausted. I'm weird like that - not feeling how tired I am until after the activity is over. I felt like I'd been running a marathon. 

Piccolo bent down over me, smirking. If he was still angry about earlier, it didn't show. He gazed down at me with an amused light in his dark eyes. "You've definitely seen better days, kid." 

Like he had any right to talk. His left cheek reminded me of a skinned knee and his arms were all scraped and cut. His gi was filthy, but surprisingly intact. 

"Look who's talking," I shot back sleepily. 

Piccolo glanced down at himself, shook his head and rolled his eyes. He hauled me into an upright position. Dust came off me in clouds. I swatted at my hair, adding more dust particles to the air. So much in fact that Piccolo sneezed and got the heck away from me. 

I finished removing the dust from my hair and straightened up to my full five foot one inch height. "C'mon, Piccolo, let's clean up. You're a mess." I crashed into the bathroom and yanked open the medicine cabinet above the sink. "I know there's antiseptic in here somewhere...aha! Da-da-da-DUNNNNN!" I made the little arpeggio noise you hear in the Zelda games when Link opens a treasure chest and held an alcohol bottle up over my head. 

That just made Piccolo shake his head. "Sometimes I wonder about you..." 

"Don't even go there, green man." Pointing to the toilet, I waited for him to put the seat down and sit. "It's not like I can help my weirdness. Not any more than you can change how green you are. Now hold still. This might sting like a bitch." I poured some alcohol over a cotton ball and dabbed it on his discolored cheek. 

You know that old movie cliché where a man won't show pain in a fight, but he'll wince when a woman cleans his wounds? Piccolo didn't do that. He gave no indication that he felt any pain at all - and alcohol in a wound is a nightmare! The only time he actually hissed was when I washed out the small cut on the tip of his pointed ear. Aww, poor Piccolo! 

I started feeling really strange as I screwed the lid back onto the alcohol bottle. The salty scent of Piccolo's sweat invaded my nose. Two whiffs later I found myself excruciatingly aroused. I stepped back away from him, shuddering inwardly. My skin was so sensitive that I wanted to claw it off. 

Piccolo pushed himself into a standing position and eyed me strangely. "What's your problem now?" 

I raised a hand and rubbed the back of my neck. "I...I feel weird all of a sudden." 

"Weird in what way? Are you ill?" 

"I..." Energy crackled around me. I launched myself at Piccolo with such force that he fell backwards with me on top. With strength I didn't even know I had, I pinned him effectively below me. Piccolo gasped and tried to move...and couldn't. 

"Cyndi...what are you...?" 

New huskiness found its way into my voice, "Mm...be quiet and let me enjoy you..." I lowered my face to his and ran my tongue across his neck, tasting his sweaty Namekian flesh. I licked my way up behind his ear. Then I went down to his chest. The taste and different textures in his skin tantalized my tongue. He tasted exactly like green beans cooked in butter. Some areas were sweatier than others, and had a stronger tinge of salt. I lapped the moist areas clean. My mouth found its way back to Piccolo's neck, where I pulled and teased the taut skin with my teeth. The same was done to his ears and antennae. Finally I claimed his mouth in a fierce kiss. When my tongue wasn't teasing him, my hands were. No part of his gorgeous body escaped my touch. He was delicious...intoxicating...aromatic... 

Piccolo's entire face turned purple. "Stop it!" He broke my hold on him and pushed me off. I tumbled backwards and landed spread-eagle near the toilet. 

"But I want to..." I told him exactly what I desired. The words I used were so disgustingly vulgar that I won't repeat them. Almost a total repeat of what happened ages ago in the Room of Dreaming...only this time I wasn't 'stoned'. "Come on, I know you want a piece of me." 

Poor Piccolo...he backed up until the wall stopped him. I sauntered forward towards him and grabbed the front of his shirt. The material was so battered that it ripped right open. Oh boy! More delicious Namekian flesh to devour! My mouth was on it in an instant. Piccolo's abs flexed as I teased them...they were eye-level to me, within perfect reach. I rubbed my face against them like an affectionate cat. 

By then the Namek's eyes were like dinner plates. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me an arm's length away. His hands stayed in place to hold me there. I panted hungrily and reached out, trying to rip the rest of his clothes off so I could taste the parts of him still hidden from my sight. I didn't care that he lacked...certain parts...I just wanted to taste every inch of him! 

"Piccoloooooooo!" I whined. 

Piccolo bared his teeth. "I know what your problem is. I heard Vegeta talking about it once. Something about a mating cycle. I think he called it 'heat'. Your behavior seems to fit his description." 

I ran a hand through my messy hair, staring at him through heavily-lidded eyes. "Is that so? Hm, interesting...now do you want to be on top...or shall I? Or maybe you'd like it doggy-style...maybe a sixty-nine! Mm, yum." 

"Stop it! We're not doing any of....what you just described!" Piccolo's eyes went from dinner plates to flying saucers. Ten huge sweatdrops surrounded his face. The poor guy was practically climbing up the wall to get away from my groping hands. "Now we're both going to YOUR side of the Time Chamber until your cycle is over and you start that bleeding thing! Now get going!" 

"But you have my underwear dripping...want to smell them?" 

More sweatdrops. 

"**_NO! I DO NOT WANT TO SMELL YOUR UNDERWEAR! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!_**" With that, Piccolo scrambled up the wall and pushed off. He flew like a ruptured duck out of the bathroom. 

And me, being in a very illogical state of mind, ran after him. I chased him right into the Real side of the room where my arousal, wild hair and tail disappeared. Even the "dripping" vanished from my underwear without a trace. I stumbled into the nearest bedpost. Fell face-down on the bed. 

"Good God, what just happened to me? Is that what a cat in heat feels like?" 

Piccolo materialized a new gi and sat down on the soft mattress. He seemed very relieved that I was back to my old self again. "I seriously don't see how the Saiyajin males survived such insanity." 

"Heheh...that was pretty wild wasn't it? Too bad you weren't, you know, in this form. We probably could've gone all the way." I giggled shyly. "Man, I'm sooooooo tired all of a sudden. I think I'm gonna turn in. Keep watch?" 

He nodded without a word and assumed the lotus position on the mattress. I reached into my backpack for all my bedtime medicines, hugged my stuffed Wile E. Coyote close and climbed between the sheets. Gave Piccolo a quick peck on the cheek and settled down to sleep. 

It didn't help that I dreamed of riding Piccolo so good that his eyes rolled back and he couldn't close his mouth. The dream was so real that I heard his moans grow louder and louder. Deep, hungry sounds of intense unmasked pleasure. I caressed the special spot behind his ears...and he roared. He was in such a state that his face, chest and other extremities were flushed purple. I felt his whole body go rigid beneath me. 

Next thing I knew, I was back in bed with Piccolo shaking my shoulder. I looked up sleepily to see his face lined with concern. He was frowning deeply, his forehead wrinkled. 

"Was Void attacking you?" 

I groaned and pulled a pillow over my face. My lovely X-rated dream was interrupted for THIS?! "Ugh, nooooo! I was dreaming about you, actually!" 

Piccolo tightened his curvy lips. "Oh." 

Shrugging, I curled up on my side and rubbed his muscular leg. "But thanks for checking on me anyway." 

The Namek didn't answer me, typical of him. He just pulled the blankets back up around me and patted my shoulder through them. Then he straightened again and resumed whatever meditation he was engaged in. He looked so overly serious with his brow knit and lips tightened. I just smiled and watched him for a moment. Imagining how he looked in my dream, all flushed, sweaty and trembling. Maybe someday I'll get to see him in that state for real. 

I sat up and wrapped my arms around his neck. 

"Wha...?" 

"Nothing, you just look like you needed a hug." I rubbed my cheek against his smooth un-injured one and settled back into bed. 

I was almost asleep when I heard Piccolo mutter, "You females are a strange species." 

"I heard that." 

"Go to sleep!" 


	12. Part Eleven

Self-insertion, language and violence warning.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Eleven

  
  
  
  
  


Before I realized it, the months in the Time Chamber were slipping by. Piccolo seemed frantic to teach me a few last minute tricks. All free time was spent on nothing but training. Mental and physical. He seemed intent on whipping me into physical shape - probably a good thing for me, I was pretty frail-looking for a Saiyajin. 

_Was_ being the key word. Over several weeks I gained some muscle. I went from a pitiful seventy-seven pounds to ninety, which is actually hard for me! I lose weight a lot easier than I gain it! I mean, if I skip a meal I'll drop half a pound, it's sickening isn't it? I feel just as bad about it as people with the opposite problem. 

At least the lean muscles made me look more like a Saiyajin. If I lost more than one pound during the day...Piccolo made me eat. No problem there. Then he'd run me ragged in the empty white void, beating me senseless to toughen me up(although he didn't always escape unscathed either). After that he'd make me sit and train my mind. I'd be so tired I couldn't move by the time the day finished. Then Void would mess with my dreams...so I never rested very well between sessions. I was always tired, cranky and jumpy, and had ugly bags under my eyes. 

And this went on for _months_. 

Finally the day came when Piccolo woke me from the first bit of peaceful sleep I'd had in months. "We're leaving the Time Chamber today. I let you sleep in for an extra hour, now get up. When we go outside, I'll grant you a few hours of free time to do as you please. You earned it." 

"Huh?" I stared stupidly at him with bleary, crusty eyes. My wild hair probably looked worse than usual since I hadn't brushed it yet. 

"We're leaving." Piccolo repeated. 

"Oh, good. Wake me up when you're ready to go." I hugged a pillow and turned over onto my stomach with my butt in the air. Forgetting that I still had a tail. 

Piccolo growled under his breath. He grabbed my tail and squeezed it hard in his strong green fist. "I'm ready NOW! Quit fooling around or I'll revoke the few free hours I granted you." 

Hot pokers shot up my spine, an acid enema would've been less painful. My hair stood on end. "YEOWCH!! Okay! Okay! I'll get up! Lemme get ready first! Oy! Now lemme go!" I squirmed helplessly and gave him a dirty look. "Hey! Tail grabbing isn't fair, you know!" 

He sneered, let go and crossed his arms. "I think it's very fair. If I remember correctly, you exploited my weakness while I was Real. Or do I need to remind you?" 

When did - oh yeah! Poor Piccolo, I'd kicked him in the balls during a mental training session. He crumpled instantly. I still remember how bad I felt for hurting him that way. "I guess that makes us even now. Mind if I clean myself up before we go? I don't wanna leave here looking like a street rat." 

"Make it quick." 

I bolted off the bed and into the bathroom. Ugh! My hair WAS a nightmare! I looked like someone electrocuted me. I put quick order into it...or as much order as I could anyway...and put on a little makeup. I also shaved my legs and armpits, they needed it badly. Then I grabbed a banana from the kitchen area and joined Piccolo by the door, the capsule containing my backpack tucked safely in a pocket. How funny - I entered this place eating something. Now I'm leaving...and I'm eating again! Oink oink! 

"This feels weird, you know? We spent six months in here and only twelve hours went by outside. Kind of scary. I wonder if there's another dimension where you could get a day's worth of training in just an hour. Wouldn't that be cool?" 

Piccolo glanced over at me, a hand on the gilded door-handle. "Such a thing is impossible. It would probably cause a collapse. Time can only be accelerated so much before it starts to distort the space around it. Everything in the universe is connected in a delicate balance, and every action has a reaction...though sometimes those reactions don't become apparent for a long while. Void, is a perfect example." He closed his dark eyes and frowned, his handsome face lined in concern, "I think the battle with Buu here and the war in your Reality happening at almost the same time are the reason she came back. Hate is an ugly thing." 

"Mm, yeah I see." My lips tightened around the mushy banana. I took a final bite, tossed the peel aside and mumbled, "Now why didn't I think of that?" 

He just shook his head and heaved the door open. Cool air from outside reminded me of how warm the Time Chamber really was. Goosebumps littered my skin like poppy seeds on a roll. I hugged myself and rubbed my arms until they went away. Regretting the fact that I put on shorts instead of my usual gray sweats. Too late to change now. 

The moment I stepped outside, I inhaled the fresh, unpolluted evening air. Ah, relief! It was like being in a stuffy car and having someone finally roll down the window. 

"It's NICE out here! C'mon!" I grabbed Piccolo by the hand, making him grunt in surprise, and scrambled for Mr. Popo's flower pots. Each flower got a long sniff from me. 

Piccolo worked his hand free, chuckling. "Calm down, kid. They're just flowers." 

"Yeah, but you never know when you'll never see them again." I bent over the nearest pot of bright red hibiscus plants. The lovely red flowers were blooming like crazy and smelled very sweet. "Besides," I pulled a blossom off, brushed it against Piccolo's cheek and tucked it behind his left ear. "I love flowers!" 

Piccolo looked so funny, scowling at me with the vibrant red hibiscus blossom resting against his emerald skin. All he needed was a pair of shorts and a bright flowered shirt and he'd be ready for Hawaii! 

He pulled the flower off his head and examined it. "Hmph." 

"Well..." Turning away from him, I walked towards the edge of the Lookout. Oops - I forgot how high up I was. I approached the rolled lip, looked over and scooted back. My stomach turned a few circles. All the flying I've ever done on my own was close to the ground! I don't care how strong I am, I'm not crazy enough to jump off and do a huge dive like Piccolo did after fusing with Kami! 

"Uh, Piccolo? Is there any special technique for flying extremely high?" 

"No, just fly like you always do." Piccolo padded over to stand behind me. "Focus on the horizon and don't look at the ground directly below you." 

"You've done this your whole life. I haven't. What if I fall?" 

That made him snicker loudly at me, half his mouth tilted upwards. The expression made one of his eyes squint slightly. A breeze ruffled my unruly hair and made his graceful white cape billow around us. "Even if you did, it wouldn't hurt you. We're not in the Time Chamber anymore, remember? A fall wouldn't phase you." 

I tightened my lips and closed my eyes. Let the energy in my center press down, lifting me a few feet off the Lookout floor. I took a few breaths and lifted my eyelids. I was now eye-level with Piccolo. He watched me float there, amusement hidden behind his stony gaze. For some reason I don't feel uncomfortable anymore when I make eye-contact with him. 

"Okay," I said nervously. "I'm going to Capsule Corp. Vegeta's the only other Saiyajin nearby and I need his help to understand this form a little better. I'd track Freeza down too, but I don't dare take one of the necklaces from the Room of Dreaming. Didn't you say yourself that Void couldn't affect anything in there?" 

"I can contact Freeza the same way Kami contacted you." Piccolo curled his lip, "I hate computers...more trouble than they're worth. I want you back here by sunrise. Don't make me come down and get you." 

"Sure." A nagging idea came to mind. I almost voiced it there, but didn't. Piccolo had enough to think about for now. "See you later, sexy." I blew him a kiss and faced the horizon. It looked like a painted canvas with purple, orange and red splashed everywhere. A fitting sunset for a cool evening like this. 

Keeping my eyes straight ahead, I asked, "Hey, how do I find Capsule Corporation?" 

Piccolo growled at me, "Just look for Vegeta's power level. If he's training it'll be way up." 

_Now what if he isn't training?_ I grumbled to myself. But guess what, I found him! His energy hammered my skull from somewhere in the south. "Aha, got it! Okay, I'll see you later!" 

Then I took a big gulp and streaked off towards the high power. Swoosh! The earth below me became a blur of green, brown and occasionally blue. Sometimes I even spotted bits of red, white or gray as barns and buildings whizzed past. I heard nothing but the air whooshing through my ears and my pounding heart. 

Oh my God, I felt like a jet plane! A hot knife in butter! A boat on the open sea! 

FREEDOM! 

I couldn't help but pull a few loops, dives and rolls in mid-air. I swooped past a family of three huge pterodactyl-like dinosaurs. They made honking noises and scattered in terror. 

I didn't care! Any fear I had before was literally blown away by the wind whipping around my body. I felt like Supergirl! 

All my life I've wanted to fly like this...and here I was doing just that! My heart upped its pace. Butterflies of excitement twirled in my stomach. Gravity had no hold on me. It felt exactly like the one moment in a roller coaster ride where the cart dips down so fast you rise off your seat....only you never come down unless you WANT to! 

I screamed in delight. "I'm FLYING! I can't believe this! I'm really FLYING!!! WOOHOO!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!" 

But I didn't have time to fool around. In all the excitement I nearly forgot I was flying for a reason. 

Once I got the goofing off out of my system, I concentrated on my goal. I adjusted my course and headed for Capsule Corporation.   
  


The sun had just dipped below the horizon, taking most of the light with it. I glanced up at the stars. They seemed so close that I could grab a handful if I scooped my hand across the sky. Hm....I spotted the Big Dipper, Leo the Lion...um...the Square of Pegasus, I think it was the Square anyway, and Cassiopeia. Too bad I didn't have my binoculars with me, I'd be checking out the Andromeda Galaxy and some star clusters in Perseus. 

Oh well, no time for stargazing. 

Vegeta's power level dropped long before I reached the city. I just kept guessing and stayed on a straight course. Even then, I missed my destination and had to double back a few miles. Duh...only a moron like me can manage to miss giant yellow domes! 

I made a very ungraceful fall-on-my-ass landing next to the infamous gravity room. Piccolo never did teach me how to land properly. Something I probably have to learn on my own, I suppose. Let's just hope nobody planned on using the grass for golfing any time soon. 

I wiped bits of grass off my butt and walked up to the nearest door. No doorbell. I spotted a speaker with a button underneath, so I pushed the button and said, "Uh, hello? Is anyone home?" 

To my surprise the door was yanked open and Mrs. Briefs stuck her head out. She had a few gray hairs mixed in with the golden blonde, but otherwise she didn't look much different than I last remembered her. The frilly pink apron clashed slightly with her tight blue stretch-pants and sky-blue tube top. Her eyes remained in perpetual, happy half-circles(how does she see through those?!). 

"Oh, hello! What can I do for you?" 

"Uhh...yeah. My name's Cyndi. I'm a friend of Bulma's, but I'm here to see Vegeta. Can I come in?" 

Mrs. Briefs giggled and clasped her manicured hands together. "Sure! Come on in! I just finished baking a lemon cake, would you like a piece?" 

Cake sounded good, and this woman can cook! "Yeah, I'll have some of that. I love cake!" 

"Great! Come in, come in!" She opened the screen for me, then slammed it shut when I stepped inside. "Vegeta was in the living room the last time I saw him." 

"Thanks a lot, Mrs. Briefs," I nodded to her, stuffing my hands into my pockets. Why was I so nervous about facing Vegeta? I...okay this is weird...but I actually picked up his scent all over the place. And Mrs. Briefs'...Vegeta must've been in the kitchen recently because his smell wasn't super-strong. I bet if I put my nose to the floor and sniffed, I'd be able to follow the exact path he took through the room. 

Mrs. Briefs smelled like peppermint and baby powder. Vegeta's scent was vastly different. Kind of musky, but not salty like Piccolo. It was more like very mild salsa - bordering on B.O. I can tell you he doesn't use deodorant and probably stinks bad whenever he gets all sweaty. 

_Okay, chill out. Don't be a wuss. It's only Vegeta out there..._ I shook my head at myself and entered the living room. 

Vegeta was sitting on the couch with his bare feet up on the footrest, watching some pro-wrestling on TV. His face seemed locked in a permanent frown. He held a can of soda in one hand, the other delving into a bag of beef jerky that he bit through like potato chips. The only clothing on his body was a white wifebeater and a pair of matching boxers. Heh, he looked like a real couch potato! Minus the beer gut, of course. 

I will admit that I spent a moment looking over his muscles. The thin clothes left little to the imagination. 

Vegeta is sexy in his own way, I think. He has a build different from Piccolo's. Piccolo is very lean like those guys in old Kung-Fu movies...until he powers up. Vegeta's muscles seem to be in perpetual flexion. Blatantly evident even while he was relaxed on the couch. 

Then again, Piccolo is an alien, his musculature might be completely different from anyone else's. Either way, the difference proved interesting. 

I shook off my thoughts and took a deep breath. 

"Hey, Mr. Potato Head!" 

Vegeta spat out a mouthful of whatever soda he just drank. He faced me with eyes like dinner plates. "Who would dare... Oh, it's just _you._" His thick eyebrows gained more slant, "I should kill that cooking woman for letting you in here. Then I should kill YOU for insulting me." 

"Man, chill out!" I bit my lip so I wouldn't snicker openly at his reaction. "I came here to see you." 

Vegeta's eyes followed me when I moved to a recliner near the couch and seated myself. He scrutinized me for a while. Then he stuffed another wad of jerky into his mouth and muttered, "I see you've been training. But you're still a twig girl. I could break you in half without even trying!" 

He just challenged me, didn't he? 

"Oh yeah?!" I shook a tiny fist at him, bristling, "Well, too bad! I didn't come here to have a pissing contest!" 

"Then what do you want from me?" 

"Here you go, sweetie," Mrs. Briefs appeared without me hearing her come in. She handed me a piece of delicious, moist lemon cake on a saucer. 

I nodded my thanks, accepted the fork and started munching. The yummy, soft cake melted instantly on my tongue. Not too sour and not overly sweet, just the way I like it. 

Mrs. Briefs also handed Vegeta a piece. She didn't seem at all phased when he snatched it without thanking her and crammed a huge chunk past his lips. 

Vegeta and I stared each other down while we ate. It was like one was afraid the other would steal their food. I finished first and set my plate down. 

"I came here because I need to talk to a Saiyajin about _being_ a Saiyajin. Since you're the only one around here, well..." I twirled my hand in a 'you get the idea' gesture. "I mean...a lot of things go on that I don't experience when I'm human. A few scare me, others just don't make much sense. I'm just trying to understand why these things happen so I don't freak out so much." 

"So?" Vegeta leaned back, rubbing a hand down the center of his stern face. He kept his eyes on the TV as if I wasn't important enough to look at. 

I balked at his un-concerned attitude. "During one training session, my power went crazy and I injured Piccolo severely. I ENJOYED it when I heard him screaming! That wasn't _me_ at all! How do you explain that?!" 

A slow, cold smile curled half of Vegeta's mouth upwards. He turned the TV off and faced me fully, arms crossed over his strong chest. The thin, ribbed shirt clung tightly to his upper body. "Sounds like you experienced a battle frenzy." 

"So...I went wild like sharks do when they smell blood?" I stared down at my hands. 

"The Saiyajin mind in its untrained state can be a dangerous thing, girl," said Vegeta. 

"And what about the 'heat' thing? I almost raped Piccolo when that happened...luckily he held me off." 

The arrogant Saiyajin burst into a snicker. It turned into a full-blown belly laugh that nearly pitched him right off the couch. "You must be _kidding_ me! That Namek is sexless, how could you possibly be attracted to something you can't mate with?! It's the most absurd thing I've ever heard you say and - " 

"That's not the point, dammit!" I snarled, "I've only experienced it once so far. I need to know how often it happens so I'll be ready next time." 

"Once every six months." Vegeta stated tersely, raising an eyebrow. "You know, you're lucky you were with the Namek in there. A female Saiyajin in heat drives every male near her into insanity. If they're in heat, they will stop at nothing to satisfy themselves with her. The only way to end a heat session is pregnancy...or just wait for it to end on its own." He flashed a mean grin, "Humans experience the same thing once a month, just on a very small scale. Then they become bitchy for a week and return to normal. How long did your heat last?" 

Warmth gathered in my cheeks and on the bridge of my nose. "Uh...just a few minutes. Piccolo lured me into the Real side of the Time Chamber so I would quit trying to rip his clothes off and lick his skin." 

"Hah!" The bag crackled as he reached in and devoured more beef jerky. "Real heat lasts for seven days! You really ARE lucky I didn't smell you. I have my own mating cycle once every three months. If we experienced heat at the same time, you would probably be pregnant right now. It isn't something you can control. Playing with yourself or sitting on the Namek's face won't make it go away, so don't even try it. Just avoid me next time you sense it coming." 

"Sense it?! Shut up! It happened without warning!" The leather upholstery creaked under my fingers. It reminded me of Piccolo's skin, so I took my hand away before my nails punctured it. Five marks indicated just how hard I'd been digging my fingers into the black fabric. "I feel like I've been turned into some foreign animal that tries to be human." 

"We _are_ animals...we just don't think we are because we have intelligence." Vegeta rolled his eyes. I noticed they were even blacker than Piccolo's, if such a thing is possible. "You'll learn the signs yourself. It's different for every female." 

"Hm..." I sniffed the air a bit. Still able to detect Mrs. Briefs' and Vegeta's different scents. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this intense sense of smell." 

His expression darkened and his smile took on a devious tilt, "Ever smell fear?" 

The look on his face made me shift uneasily in my seat. "Fear has a smell?" 

"Somewhat." He slurped a piece of jerky from between his teeth. "A person's scent changes when they become afraid. It's different for everyone. That is why you must completely assess an opponent before you fight. Otherwise you'll never notice the difference and miss the opportunity to press your advantage." 

I leaned back in the recliner and took a deep breath. This information was a lot to take in at once, and I'm not very good at absorbing such huge chunks of knowledge. 

"Papa?" A little voice broke in over the uncomfortable silence. I looked over to see a sleepy Bra standing in the doorway, tears running down her young face. Her blue hair was all messed up and sticking out in funny directions. 

My nose twitched. Bubblegum and strawberry, that made up her scent. The strawberry was probably shampoo or from the detergent used on her cute little unicorn nightgown. 

Vegeta's brow smoothed and his hard demeanor softened a little. "What is it, Princess?" 

"I had a bad dream!" The little girl sniffled. "A big black bug-monster tried to eat me! Will you come sing that neat fighter song for me 'till I fall back to sleep?" 

I stiffened instantly, my ears trained on Bra's voice. There was no mistaking who that "monster" was. Poor little girl, she looked so frightened. 

More ugly hatred towards Void bubbled deep in my stomach. _Now she's terrorizing children! How low will she go before someone stops her? CAN anyone stop her, for that matter?_

Vegeta uncurled from the couch, walked over and took Bra's hand. Bra smiled up at him with sleepy eyes. Her father spoke to her without his usual biting tone. "Very well. Come on." 

I broke in, "Vegeta, I'll need to talk to you some more after you're done." 

He only glanced over his shoulder, nodded and led Bra back down the hallway. I couldn't help but tip-toe into the hall after they'd disappeared. Vegeta singing, this I've gotta hear! 

And sing he did. It sounded like the rhythmic, repetitive singing Indians do while dancing around a bonfire. Very low-pitched and subdued, probably no more than three different notes throughout the whole song. 

I dared to peek into the room and saw Vegeta sitting on the bed with Bra cradled tenderly in his muscular arms, lit only by a little red balloon night-light. His lips were near her ear like the words were meant for her only. His song sounded so fierce. I couldn't understand the words. Probably the Saiyajin language, but somehow I felt like the song told a story about some legendary battle. 

_"Aaaay-HEE-oh-mee...mee. Aaaayy-HEE-oh-maaah...maaah. Dai-KEE-doh-mee...mee. Dai-KEE-doh-maaah...maaah. Yah-DA-so-ROO...roo. So-ROO...roo. Yah-DA-so-ROO...roo. So-ROO...roo..."_

Suddenly Vegeta went quiet and lowered his sleepy girl into bed. I dashed madly back down the hall before he could turn around, and pretended to be interested in the TV guide. 

"So what else are you here to speak about?" Vegeta showed no trace of the softness I saw earlier. He and Piccolo seem to have very similar emotional patterns. 

"It's about that black monster Bra saw. I bet you anything it stood nine feet, nine inches tall and looked exactly like Cell's first form...only black and female." I dropped the TV guide on top of Vegeta's bag of beef jerky and faced him. I don't get serious often, but I was then. 

Vegeta's forehead wrinkled. I definitely had his attention! "Go on..." 

"Well....her name is Void and..." I slowly explained everything. I started at the time Kami appeared to give me the necklace and finished up with my flight to the Capsule Corporation. I write better than I speak, so Vegeta probably heard a lot of repetitive speech, but he understood what I was telling him. Even if it did take almost three hours of being stopped and questioned every other sentence. 

Cracking his knuckles after I went silent, Vegeta grinned. He wanted a piece of the action. "I've tangled with this creature a few times. She's pretty strong. A very dirty fighter too...kind of like me." 

"You bet your ass she's strong! Piccolo and I together can't even beat her. We might need your help, Vegeta. Piccolo is also contacting Freeza." I ran a hand through my wild Saiyajin hair and sighed, "Stay close to Bra and wake her up if she shows any sign of that nightmare again. Void is merciless, she'd kill your little girl for no reason other than she thinks it's funny. Now I have to go. Piccolo wants me back by dawn and I don't want to be late. Maybe I'll have him come down here and we can all talk about this together." 

"Fine with me. Just don't come banging on the door before five...I hate having my sleep disturbed." 

I growled at him. Sometimes he can be such a bullheaded brat! "How the hell are you going to watch Bra and sleep at the same time?" 

Vegeta had already started walking away. "Simple." He said with his back to me, "I sleep light. I wake up if a fly buzzes near me." 

"Good excuse." I chuckled to myself, "Bye Veggie." 

If he had a snide reply, I didn't hear it. I was already taking to the air. 

Using the North Star as a guide, I took off and made a speedy flight towards Dende's Lookout. Or the _Tenka_...I think that's the right Japanese word for it. Well either way, you out there know where I'm heading!   
  


I landed on the white marble floor with a soft thud. Still not very graceful, but at least I stayed on my feet. A gray line was just forming along the eastern horizon...so I barely made it back in time. I breathed a relieved sigh, stretched a little and looked around for Piccolo. Starlight is not good light for seeing in. I didn't spot Piccolo until the eastern sky was almost completely gray, which lit up the entire Lookout with light no brighter than a full moon. 

Piccolo was floating in the lotus position near one of the pillars, meditating peacefully. He hovered just high enough to keep his majestic cape from brushing the ground. No sense in bothering him. If he wanted to say something he would've spoken up already. 

Well, nothing to do now but wait around until Piccolo finished his meditation. I swallowed one of my pills dry, sighed and took a leisure walk around behind the large main building. 

The wind was coming towards me. My nose picked up another scent that didn't quite belong. Kind of...metallic and sugary. I followed the smell until I spotted a figure standing near the Lookout's edge, silhouetted against the golden sun's first rays. The glare made distinguishing anything impossible. 

"G'day, mate!" A scratchy alto voice spoke. Australian accent and all...very different from the British one I'm used to. 

I put a hand up to block out the sun. _No way...I'm dreaming! That can't be -_

The glare went away, revealing a very petite shape with a thick tail, an armored head and two sideways-facing horns. 


	13. Part Twelve

Self-insertion and language warning.   
I looked up a dictionary on Australian slang(strine) and phrases...so I hope Freeza's new accent sounds right. ^_^   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twelve

  
  
  
  
  


I put a hand up to block out the sun. _No way, I'm dreaming! That can't be -_

The glare went away, revealing a very petite shape with a thick tail, an armored head and two sideways-facing horns. 

"Freeza? Oh my God, is that you?!" 

Freeza hopped off the planter he was standing on and came towards me. I noticed he was wearing tight black corduroy shorts and a dark red boomerang jacket with the collar partially zipped. His clothes looked a little big. I guess the transformation from his human form to Icejin required a bit of shrinkage, since his fourth form is taller than his first. In his first form he's really tiny, probably four and a half feet tall - his head barely reached my chin! 

"Who else would I be?" Freeza chuckled. "Piccolo gave me the drum on what's goin' on around 'ere, so I just thought I'd lob in and join the action. Don't 'ave anythin' better to do any'ow." He sounded so different with his Aussie accent! I guess living there for so long really rubbed off on him. Now he pronounced his words just like Zarbon or Jeice, but I won't tell him that! 

"But...how did you get back to your original form? It took me several trips between Realities to fully change!" 

Shrugging, Freeza shook his horned head. "Piccolo told me where to meet 'im and popped up wearin' one of the necklaces. 'e dragged me 'ere, and the next thing I knew..." He gestured down at himself, looking just as confused as I felt. "I guess Void is muckin' around with the fine line between dimensions. I 'aven't slept well for over a month, she keeps showin' up in my nightmares. She just won't rack off. I'm worried she'll go after Cathy and Lexy next." 

I bristled angrily, "No she won't! I'll kick her ass before she hurts anyone else!" 

"Don't chuck a wobbly, it won't 'elp matters," snapped Freeza. His naturally chilling, black-lipped smile returned a moment later. He patted my arm and pointed over my shoulder at Piccolo. "C'mon, I think Piccolo's finished with 'is meditation." 

"Oh?" I glanced over my shoulder and...sure enough...the handsome Namek was walking towards us, his eyes squinting in the bright sunlight. 

Piccolo stopped right beside me, crossed his arms and tilted his head. "So, did you find out everything you needed from Vegeta?" 

"Yeah, I also told him everything about the fight with Void, too. He wants in. I told him I might come back with you to formulate a plan." I looked over at Freeza and smiled. "You're coming with us, 'kay? The four of us as a team would make Void piss herself...I mean, she can't be stronger than all of us, can she?" 

Freeza held his chin between fore-finger and thumb, thinking. I noticed he wore a thick gold wedding band on his delicate ring finger. "Are you sure that piker isn't gonna spit the dummy when I show up?" 

Piccolo and I both raised a brow. I know Australian people have some strange phrases, but this one had both of us stumped. I looked at Piccolo, Piccolo looked at me, then both of us shrugged. 

"Excuse me?" the Namek asked. 

Freeza blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh, sorry. I'm so used to the way they speak Down Under that I kinda...forget that not everyone understands. Anyhow mate, Vegeta won't get mad, will 'e?" 

"I told him everything we went through, Freeza." I broke in before Piccolo could say anything. My tail twitched behind me, still seeming to have a life of it's own. Maybe I should give it a name or something. "He might be uncomfortable, but I don't think he'll just flat out attack you on sight. I'll kick him in the nads if he tries." I soured, "Of course, he also said he didn't want anyone bothering him before five and it's..." I checked my watch, "Oh wait...it's almost five now. If we all leave now we'll get there long after Vegeta's awake and alert." 

Obviously eager to get going, Freeza headed for the Lookout's edge. He swished his thick, armored tail and looked over his shoulder at us. "Well then, let's buzz off a'ready..." 

"Freeza...you sound a little like Simon Cowell with a high voice. I swear...hehe!" 

"Whozzat'?" 

"Oh...I forgot. You don't watch American Idol. Nevermind," I laughed some and glanced back at Piccolo, who stood watching Freeza and I thoughtfully. "Hey big guy, let's go before all my bravado disappears. If you have something on your mind, we can talk about it on the way there." 

"Mm." Piccolo rumbled silently, his stone-faced expression remaining unchanged. Void probably came into his meditation and said something he didn't like. I know Piccolo too well now and can tell when his mind is churning. He tightened his lips a little, "Let's just go." 

I'm still not insane enough to jump. I levitated first and THEN dove, so I had to play catch-up with Freeza and Piccolo once I got myself in order. Trying with all my might to NOT look straight down at the ground below. "I don't see how you guys don't throw up every time you dive off!" 

Piccolo twisted his head around to peer at me. The cloth surrounding his neck fluttered against his green skin. Half his mouth quirked upwards, "It's a habit. Don't worry, kid, you take off just fine." 

"We've been at this all our lives." Freeza added, drifting closer to Piccolo and I. He zipped his jacket-collar up so it would stop flapping against his frail neck, smirked and went on, "Just do it the way you're comfortable and try more as you gain experience. No worries, 'luv." 

"Heh, yeah." I turned my head this way and that, trying to keep the wind from blowing my hair in my face. No such luck. I grumbled to myself about how I should've used a scrunchie to tie it back. "Hey, Freeza...humor me. Did you go visit Steve Irwin's Zoo?" 

Freeza broke into a huge grin and chuckled, his red eyes gleaming, "I sure did! I even 'ave Steve's autograph mounted on my wall back 'ome." 

"You're kidding!" 

"Nope. Fair dinkum." 

"And who is this Steve Irwin?" Piccolo interrupted. 

"The Crocodile Hunter!" Freeza and I shouted at the same time. Then we caught each others' eye and cracked up laughing. 

Piccolo just gave us a baffled look and rolled his dark eyes. "Both of you watch too much television in your free time. I swear it rots your brain like candy rots your teeth." 

"Hey, YOU were watching TV during the Cell saga!" I grinned. 

"That was different!" 

"Suuuuuuuuuuuuure it was..." 

Freeza drifted around a cloud, reappearing moments later. "Relax, she's just givin' you the razz." He dropped his toothy smile as Capsule Corporation's yellow domes came into view. I could tell he wasn't overly comfortable with facing Vegeta again after all these years. 

"Oh boy...I hate landing. I almost always fall." 

"Try going down in a standing position. Nice and slow." Piccolo advised me gently, "You'll get better, don't worry." As if to demonstrate, he straightened his body, spilled energy and touched down like a feather. 

"Well, here goes." I bit my lip and gradually slowed the flow of energy from my center. Adjusted myself into a "standing position". Still too fast! My feet touched down unevenly, I wound up stumbling forward until I crashed face-first into Piccolo's strong abs. I grabbed on automatically to avoid falling on my face. "OOF! Ow...Piccolo, you definitely have abs of steel." 

"Feh." He caught and steadied me by grabbing my shoulders, "Try straightening out _before_ you actually descend next time. You still come in way too fast, it's throwing off your balance." 

Freeza landed with a soft plop near us. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and examined the tall dome-shaped buildings. "It 'asn't changed much since I was last 'ere." His accent was really growing on me. He sounded so cute! 

"Nope, I guess not. Hey Piccolo, you do the honors this time." 

Piccolo tightened his jaw, "Hmph. Fine." He approached the loudspeaker by the door and pushed the button like he wanted to kill it. "Get out here, Vegeta!" Wow, that was forward. 

Freeza just shook his armored head without saying anything. Poor guy, he still looked nervous. He reached for his zipper and yanked it down, then pulled his boomerang jacket over his head. All he wore underneath was a black T-shirt with a white logo for some surfing company on the back. He tied the jacket around his waist and crossed his arms. 

Then Vegeta's voice blasted through the speaker, startling everyone. "All right! All right! Just a minute, you impatient peons!" 

I fell over backwards with my feet in the air. Damn, he's so loud! Freeza helped me up, looking pretty frazzled himself. Piccolo simply waited by the speaker, arms crossed and face stoic as usual. Any impatience he felt didn't show in his eyes or expression. Good grief, that Namek's gorgeous face is going to fall off someday if he keeps tightening it so much! Get the glue! 

Suddenly the door flew open and Vegeta poked his head out. He was soaked and wore nothing but a towel around his waist. "I KNEW I should've said six. Blast you! Wait in the living room." He barked the words out like orders and shoved the door open. 

"Well excuuuuuuuuse me. You said five." I muttered as I pushed past the rude Saiyajin. 

After everyone was inside, Vegeta started walking away. Get this: he took his towel off and started drying his head while still in plain view! I saw EVERYTHING! Every freaking muscle, curve and what-not. I did an involuntary double-take when I saw "Little Vegeta" swinging from side to side like a limp noodle. 

Good grief, Vegeta has NO SHAME does he?! 

Unaware of the peep show he just gave me, Vegeta shoved past and his tight ass disappeared down the hallway. 

My entire face turned bright red. I covered up my mouth and burst out giggling, a massive sweatdrop forming over my head. Pretty soon I was in complete hysterics. Both Freeza and Piccolo gave me identical odd looks, their mouths shaped in perfect O's. They could care less about seeing a naked guy...I guess they'll never understand, will they? 

Freeza edged over and snapped his tapered fingers near my face. I just kept laughing. He looked over at Piccolo and said, "She's gone around the bend a'right..." 

Piccolo shook his head, but he smiled. "Females are impossible." 

"**_I HEARD THAT!_**" 

Both facevaulted.   
  


Freeza, Vegeta, Piccolo and I all sat together in the living room. Everyone except for Piccolo munched on a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast. Or rather....Vegeta and I tore our food apart while Freeza took delicate little bites and took his time chewing everything. Piccolo watched all of us in disgust, though most of those looks went to me and Vegeta as we gorged ourselves. 

Me and Freeza were both squished together on the recliner, sharing a TV tray. Piccolo was sitting cross-legged on the floor and Vegeta reigned over the couch with his plates balanced perfectly in his lap. 

Breakfast was...well...entertaining. 

Clank. Crunch! 

"Mmmm-mmm!" 

"Are you gonna finish that?" 

"Not y- " 

"Cool!" 

CLINK! 

"'ey!" 

"Nyahaha!" 

SLUUUUUUUUUUUURP! 

"...Disgusting! This is why I'm glad I _don't_ eat." 

"Sorry - " 

CHOMP! 

" - hey! My egg!" 

"Heh, heh. Careful 'luv, you'll smear your lippy." 

"Pfft! I'm not wearing any right now!" 

"Will you fools just shut up so I can eat in peace!?" 

"...party pooper." 

That ended the food-stealing and general goofing around. Everyone who was eating sullenly and QUIETLY resumed their meals. 

I can't believe how much I ate there. Four plates of pancakes! Six helpings of bacon and eggs! Three pieces of toast! Oink, oink! 

I got stuffed before Vegeta, but after Freeza. "Wooooooo that hit the spot!" I said, leaning back with both hands on my bloated stomach. Being full also helped chase away the constant morning goosebumps. Maybe I ate a little too much...I started feeling sleepy, and could barely move without feeling my whole stomach shift. Might as well have swallowed a boulder. 

"I think I'll 'ave a cuppa coffee." Freeza told Mrs. Briefs when she came through to pick up the used plates. 

"Sure, dear!" She pinched Freeza's pale pink cheek between two manicured fingers and wiggled it back and forth, "You're such a little cutie, aren't you? Someone should cast you in porcelain and mount you on my dresser!" 

Freeza scrunched his face up, blushing massively. His seemingly painted lips did a weird sideways contortion. A small sweatdrop dripped off the side of his horned head. He peered up at the woman with one eye a little larger than the other. "Er...'kyou. The coffee, please? I'll take cream and a pincha' sugar." 

"Of course!" 

Seconds later, he was sitting back with one leg crossed over the other(his little feet didn't even touch the floor), and his tail draped across the back of the recliner, sipping neglectfully from a white mug. Freeza drinking coffee, I never thought I'd see it! 

I watched Freeza sip away and wrinkled my nose, "Coffee....yuck! I've tried it and...ew, it smells better than it tastes! Wine I like, but not coffee." 

"Well, you 'quire a taste for it, I s'ppose." 

My nose wrinkled almost as fiercely as Piccolo's. "Not me, not ever. I'm hyperactive anyway, so stimulants actually slow me down. Of course, later on I wind up acting like Beavis when he turns into Cornholio...but the immediate effect is the same as my medicine. Which is also why I take the darn pill three times a day. So you won't see me running around asking people to give me T.P. for my bunghole." 

That set him off laughing. "Do you even know whatta' bung'ole is?" 

"A butthole?" 

Freeza was beside himself. "Down Under...it means your pie'ole. Your mouth!" 

"Oh...BWA HA HA!" 

The Great Self-Imposed Emperor Vegeta finally finished his meal. He clanked his plates rudely together to get our attention. "Enough of this nonsense! Let's get down to business. The less time I have to be in the room with THAT," he pointed an accusing finger at Freeza, "the better I'll feel." 

I jumped off the chair and lunged at the arrogant Saiyajin. "Everything that happened to you wasn't his doing and you know it, Vegeta! So just shut up!" 

"Want to make me?" 

"GRRR!" My power surged almost on its own accord. It created a breeze that blew magazines and loose papers around the room. 

Vegeta just grinned mockingly at me. He knew exactly how to set me off. "What a pathetic display! I should - " 

"Both of you shut up **NOW!**" Piccolo's baritone growl cut in. His imposing green form stepped between us, cutting off any direct paths of attack. 

"Quit actin' so cranky," Freeza slipped off the couch and settled a small hand on my shoulder. He frowned, but kept his anger in check. "'sokay, don't worry 'bout it. What 'e says doesn't bother me. I know the truth. Can't blame 'im if 'e won't accept it." 

"Okay...I'm stopping." An apology burned in my throat. I didn't voice it. 

Being held back didn't didn't make me want to bash Vegeta's face in any less, but it settled me down. Sometimes I really hate having such a quick temper! Cooling off is not something I can do right away. I was still fuming when I let go of my energy. The papers flying around the room abruptly fluttered downwards and landed wherever they happened to fall. 

"Now..." Piccolo stepped aside and settled in the lotus position near me. Probably making sure I wouldn't lunge as soon as he moved. He gazed up at me with smoldering, slightly softer eyes that melted the anger from my heart. "Cyndi," he began softly, "you said you had something you wanted to say on this whole matter. We're all listening, so say it." 

Vegeta planted himself on the hassock near the couch this time, his hands folded between his knees. Freeza took a seat in the recliner again. Piccolo remained as he was. Suddenly three pairs of eyes were focused right on me. 

I knew exactly what I wanted to say and my mind drew a complete blank! I never speak well under pressure! To make matters worse, my stomach decided to start acting crampy. 

_Say something, stupid!_

"Um, ah...well okay, it's like this..." I focused on my fingers, all of which sported a ring. The mood rings on my thumbs faded from deep blue to purple. "Void seems impossibly strong every time we face her. All of us have seen her at least once or twice in our dreams, some of us more. Piccolo and I have been doing a lot of training and...well you know...I had plenty of spare time to think about this - " 

"Get to the point!" 

"Let her talk, Vegeta." Piccolo cut him off. 

I rubbed the back of my neck. "I mean, there are several levels of unconsciousness. It's like..." I looked around, something visual might help me explain better. The ruler on the table might do. I snatched it and held it up. Pointing to the top, I continued, "Suppose the top end of the ruler is awake and the bottom end is death." My finger moved down to the one inch mark, "This is sleep. Dreaming is a little higher, probably at the half-inch mark. Anyway...I think Void is existing down at the bottom," My finger slid to the shiny silver eleven. "This is the deepest possible state of unconsciousness you can be in without dying." 

They all looked pretty perplexed. Brows knit, lips twitched and skepticism weighed heavily. 

"Okay...that isn't working, let's try something else." Looking around some more, I spotted Bulma's fishtank set up in the corner. One white and one black fish cruised lazily around in the clear blueness. I rushed over to it and began pointing. "The bottom of this tank is the lowest possible level of consciousness...any lower and you die." I used the little green net to scoop the black fish near the glass where everyone could see it. "This fish is Void hanging out down here. You follow me?" 

Three heads nodded. I heard a slurp as Freeza sipped his coffee. 

"Right. Well...dreams and meditation are up here on the surface." I grabbed some flaky fish-food and sprinkled it into the tank. The black and orange flakes drifted around on the surface. "We're the fish-food. So, you know, we just flop around helplessly on the surface." While I spoke the black fish darted up, gorged itself and swam back to the bottom. The white one helped itself a moment later. "I mean, see how easily that fish got to the food? No resistance at all! So um...if we want to fight Void..." I worked a paper clip off some nearby blueprints and crammed some fish-food flakes between the prongs. Then I dropped the paper clip into the fishtank. It sank immediately to the bottom, scaring the black fish away. "...We have to meet on HER level." I faced the group again. "The reason she keeps swatting us away is because most of our strength stays here in the conscious world with our physical body. If we, you know, want a chance against her, we gotta be as close to physical death as possible without actually dying." 

Vegeta leaned back and rubbed his chin between fore-finger and thumb. Quite a lot for him to digest. Freeza showed no outward signs of thought except for faraway eyes. Piccolo appeared very pleased with me. 

"And the dream catcher?" Piccolo questioned, "What's the connection there?" 

"Simple, really...dream catchers keep evil dreams away. Void is evil and she's in our dreams, so it burns her when she touches it." 

This time it was Freeza who spoke up. Very soft and polite, "Maybe it won't matter once we find a way down to 'er level. Like per'aps she won't 'tack you if you own one." 

"No, she came after me and Piccolo even though we have a dream catcher. Although she DID run when I let her see I had it after using it to burn her foot..." 

"Think about it for a moment, will you?" Vegeta snarled his impatience at me, standing up. "Maybe its effects strengthen as you delve deeper into unconsciousness. You were probably deep in meditation and didn't realize it, so this dream catcher inflicted more pain than she expected." 

Suddenly everyone's attention sprang to Vegeta. He stood there with his back straight and his arms crossed, lips quirked into a sly smirk. The same evil expression he wears whenever he's up to something. 

Vegeta stood up, cracked his knuckles and walked to the door. "Well, I'll let you losers digest that for awhile. I'm going to the gravity room." 

"'ey!" Freeza glared, "You can't just bail out!" 

"Watch me!" The door banged shut. 

"Of all the bloody bastards..." the petite alien shook his head. "That bloke 'asn't changed one bit since I last saw 'im. Still up 'imself like a flag on a pole." 

"Eh, once an ass, always an ass." My stomach did a quadruple loop. Abdominal cramps practically doubled me over on the spot. I felt hot and sweaty all over. Then I got goosebumps. I passed an S.B.D. potent enough to kill a forest. A lot of pressure built up in my rear end, and it wasn't gas. "Uh oh...something isn't agreeing with me. Excuse me!" I made a mad dash for the bathroom before anyone knew I farted and exploded in the toilet. I've had food go through me before, but this is ridiculous! At least it waited until I finished explaining my thoughts to the guys.   
  


I'd been crapping my brains out for almost half an hour when someone knocked on the door. I groaned, whoever wanted to peek in was going to fall over from the smell. 

"Who's there?" 

"Me." Piccolo's baritone rasp answered. "Mind if I come in?" 

"Shut the door if you do. It stinks in here and I don't want anyone else dropping dead. Maybe you're immune since you're already green." 

"Hmph." The door squeaked open and clicked shut. Piccolo didn't seem to notice the smell, or just didn't show it. "Are you okay, kid?" 

Did he come all the way in here just to ask me that? 

"I think it's the ham I ate in the Time Chamber the night before we came out...I left it sitting out too long. Probably just a touch of food-poisoning. I'll be okay in a day or so. Until then..." Splurt! "...I'm going to be pretty miserable." 

The Namek wrinkled his nose at my bodily noises. I figured he was again glad he didn't eat...no food-poisoning. "I didn't come in here to count plopping noises with you. I just wanted to say I'm proud of you. I knew about what you explained all along and wondered if you'd figure it out. I didn't think you would, and you did." 

My cheeks heated up. I cleaned up with a few huge bits of T.P., flushed the toilet and adjusted my clothes again. "You came all the way in here just to say that?" 

Piccolo let me lean on him. He helped me into the living room. Freeza was in the kitchen helping Mrs. Briefs wash all the dishes, so we were pretty much alone. Piccolo didn't speak again until I was comfortable on the couch. "Yeah, I guess so. You amaze me sometimes, Cyndi. You act like you don't give a damn, or don't have a clue, and then..." He flashed a quick smile and snapped his fingers, "you turn around and show us all up. You'd do it so much more often if you didn't hold yourself back." 

I felt like squirming between the cushions. "Well sometimes I'm afraid I'll sound stupid. I don't have the greatest speaking skills in the world. It'd be a lot easier if everyone could read my mind." 

_I can, remember?_

"Shaddup! I..." Suddenly my entire stomach clenched. "...am going to throw up!" I sprinted for the bathroom. Entire digestive rejection...yucky. 

There was just one problem. 

Vegeta came back inside while I was crapping. He'd just changed clothes and was exiting his bedroom when me saw me making my dash. Being the ass he is, the Saiyajin prince stepped in my path. 

"Why the hurry, Twiggy?" 

I covered my mouth with both hands. I was retching like a cat about to spit up a hairball. "MOVE!!" 

"Or what?" 

No stopping it now. My windpipe choked off. Intense spasms squeezed me from within. Everything still in my stomach violently ejected itself. Twice. Three times. FOUR times! No chance to breathe, make a sound or move. Movie puking is so fake, you can't make noise when you're blowing chunks. 

Vegeta now wore my breakfast along with his other clothes. He stared at me with eyes like dinner plates. Strings of yellow, half-digested eggs and green snot-like bile dripped down his face in sticky strings. 

"Oh my....DISGUSTING! Get away from me, you sick creature! ARGH!" He shoved me into the bathroom. His footsteps pounded back into the bedroom and the shower in the master bathroom started up full-blast. 

A little late, I had nothing left. I washed my face and mouth out and staggered back into the living room. Making sure to step OVER the sticky goo on the floor. I felt kind of bad for it, but it's Vegeta's fault for not moving! 

"Nasty...looks like you've caught a little wog there, 'luv. C'mere." 

"What gave you the first clue?" I stumbled to Freeza with both hands on my aching stomach. I wouldn't be eating anything solid for the next day...there goes some of the weight I worked so hard to put on. "And what's a 'wog'?" 

"Aussie speak for a flu bug or somethin' similar." Freeza half-dragged me to the couch and plopped me down. His tiny hands were cold, I can't remember them ever being warm. Probably because he's a reptile and cold-blooded. "Since you won't be bailin' for awhile, Piccolo 'eaded to the mall. Said 'e was goin' to get dream catchers for all of us. Somehow I can't quite picture 'im getting a warm welcome." 

"Not like you'd do any better...Vegeta is out of the question. Dammit, stupid ham! I should've known it was spoiling!" 

"I 'aven't seen anyone puke like that before." Freeza's chilling grin split his pale face, "Serves Vegeta right, I s'ppose." 

"He's such an asshole!" 

"The bloke 'as 'is reasons." 

"Still!" 

"Shhh." Freeza patted my arm and touched my forehead, searching for a fever. He wouldn't find one. "You'll make yourself sick again." 

Mumbling angrily under my breath, I relaxed with my head on the couch's arm. Not the greatest pillow in the world, but better than my own arm. "You sound so different with that accent, you know? You could fool someone into thinking you were born in Australia or something." 

"Heh, heh...I'm sure I'll could easily go back to yabberin' the old way if I wanted to. But I don't really 'ave a reason. Most people thought my Icejin accent was strange, they thought I was a Pom!" 

"...Pom?" 

"British. English." 

"Ohhh...heheh, yeah, you did sound very British." 

Freeza plopped himself down with his back against the couch, yawning and stretching. "If you say so, 'luv." 

I thought of something and laughed. "Good God, if Vegeta was Australian, he'd be calling Bulma 'Sheila' all the time. 'Sheila, bring me a drying cloth!'" 

He snickered with his finger up near his nose. I grabbed his hand and pulled it closer to examine his wedding band. "I love rings. As if you didn't notice earlier." The gold band had Cathy's name engraved along the entire outside. He must polish it every day to keep it so nice and shiny. Same goes for his head. 

"It was a great weddin', too! Everybody got pissed...er...drunk. Even Cathy and I. We barely found our weddin' suite and never did anything 'xcept sleep. Pretty 'ilarious." Freeza glanced around a bit and grabbed the TV remote. "Well, we've got time to waste. I'm gonna see what's on the idiot box 'ere." 

I shut my eyes, turned onto my back and draped an arm over my face. My stomach gurgled, but didn't do anything drastic. I heard the TV flick onto the news channel. 

"...and in other news: The worldwide insomnia crisis continues. Several freeways and airways have been shut down due to severe traffic accidents. The riot in Nikki Town was finally dispelled after several law enforcers flung tear gas into the mob. Many of the people involved appeared to be under the influence of some unknown substance and complaining of seeing a black insect-creature in their dreams. A six o'clock curfew has been enforced. Anyone seen outside after this time will be arrested. More on this story at eleven." 

"Shit...this isn't good!! She's breaking peoples' minds down and controlling them!" 

Freeza twisted around and fixed his ruby eyes on me. His gaze didn't have the same chilling effect it used to, but I instantly knew he was pretty ticked off when lines formed around his small, black mouth. "The world is goin' mad. What're we gonna do when the people really start 'tackin' themselves?" 

"It won't come to that! It can't!" 

Freeza pointed to the screen where a fat bald man in a business suit was being led away by police. Dark circles surrounded the man's eyes and an insane smile twisted his bearded face. He kicked one of the cops away, laughing like a loon. 

"'Luv," He faced me again, "I'm 'fraid it 'as." 

I pushed myself up on one elbow. My stomach didn't like the shift very much. "If all the cities are like this...oh, God! Piccolo might be out in a mess like that! There's no telling what could happen if a huge mob gangs up on him." 

"Not good..." muttered Freeza sullenly. 

My stomach couldn't take anymore stress. I ran for the bathroom and hugged the toilet. 


	14. Part Thirteen

Self-insertion, mild violence and language warning. Personally, I think the coolest part of this chapter is me and Freeza jumping through fire...you'll have to read on to find out what I'm talking about. >:)   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Thirteen

  
  
  
  
  
  


Drink water. Throw up. Drink ginger tea. Throw up more. Eat soup. Throw up until I can't see straight. Thanks to some pills Mrs. Briefs gave me, I didn't have the runs anymore. However I couldn't keep anything down after I took the medicine. At least with vomiting I can keep it off my clothes. Nothing worse than having diarrhea in my pants. It only happened to me once. I was five years old and in my mom's car, coming back from the doctor's office. I thought it was just gas, so I lifted my rear end up to fart and...splat. We got stuck in traffic and I had to sit in that stinking mess for almost an hour. Luckily my mom was very understanding, but I NEVER want to go through an experience that again! If it's a choice between puking and pooping, I'll take the puking! 

It was impossible to tell if worry or the actual illness kept making me hug the toilet. Every time I exited the bathroom, Freeza would hand me a glass of some orange-flavored electrolyte fluid(can't remember the name). The most it did for me was give my stomach something to reject within half an hour. 

Two and a half hours dragged by. Piccolo still wasn't back. Vegeta didn't give a damn either way, he just trained. Freeza put the recliner back and, being so tired, dozed off without intending to. 

Freeza looked so sweet when he was asleep. Like a little China-doll with hand-painted features. I would kill to have perfect skin like him - not a zit or flaw anywhere! His form did age somewhat. Unlike Piccolo, Freeza wasn't one to stay unchanged forever. The lines I saw around his lips when he tightened them were still there, though not readily apparent unless you looked close. There's the proof that he doesn't wear lipstick. If he did it would've feathered into those fine lines. He still had that cute little button-nose, it didn't get all pointy like King Kold's. I'm no expert for judging age, but I'd guess he's the Icejin equivalent of middle-aged or thereabouts. 

I spent much of my time sitting by the door, propped against the frame. Hoping to see a flicker in the sky indicating Piccolo's return. No such luck. Not even a twinkle of his power in the distance. The clear blue sky remained utterly still, a deceiving sense of peace considering the chaos I saw on the news earlier. 

"Where _are_ you, Piccolo?" I whispered aloud. 

The recliner creaked. Freeza rubbed his eyes and looked around. He spotted me seated in the doorway and padded over, "Looks like our green friend 'ere went walkabout on us." 

"No, something must be wrong. Piccolo would never be gone this long for such a simple task. Freeza, I'm really worried!" I grabbed his lean arm and pulled myself up. I was thinner than him...but only because he's a guy and has bigger muscles. "Come on, we better go look for him. He might need our help!" 

"You're still sick with a bad case of the trots, 'luv. What about sending Vegeta after him?" 

"I'm just puking now, Mrs. Briefs gave me something for the runs. And sending Vegeta in wouldn't work." I sighed, exasperated, "He's not interested in anything but the fight. He can train until his balls fall off for all I care. I wouldn't be so worried...but I can't sense Piccolo's power. He might be suppressing it, but still..." 

"I s'ppose we could blow in and 'ave a gander. But flyin' around in the city would draw too much 'tension." 

"It's too far to walk." I complained, "and I can't drive." 

"I can." Freeza stated simply, shaking his armored head. He turned from me and started towards the kitchen. "No need to carry on like a pork-chop now. I'm sure the missus 'ere will lend us somethin' to drive. Lemme look 'er up." 

By then I was too worried to care HOW I got into the city. If the only way there was to walk on two fingers across a tightrope, I'd do it without hesitation. My ears detected Freeza's voice speaking to Mrs. Briefs and her excited reply. Freeza came back looking like the cat that ate the canary and wiggled a Capsule before my eyes. 

"Cool! What kind of car is it?" 

"It isn't a car, 'luv." Freeza depressed the plunger and tossed the Capsule outside. It clattered against the grass and exploded. 

POOFFFFF! 

There sat a bitchin' looking motorcycle with black chrome and gleaming silver engine parts. Freeza eyed the vehicle like a piece of candy. "I 'ave my own 'Arley Davidson back 'ome. It's cherry red." The petite Icejin hurried to the motorcycle, hopped on and stomped his foot to start the engine. At least it _looked_ like he stomped to get it started. He used his own leg like a kickstand and twisted something on the right handlebar to rev the engine. 

Vrooooommmm.......VROOOOOOMMMM! _VROOM-**VROOOMMMMM!**_

The engine was as loud as a Harley, that's for sure! 

"Just like a kitten!" Freeza's face split into a huge, almost sadistic grin. His teeth flashed white in the sunlight. He fished a pair of Ray Bans from his back pocket and donned them. Somehow they stayed in place on his face and looked damn cool at the same time. He looked over at me. The black lenses shimmered like Master Roshi's. "'op on, I'll use my tail as a seatbelt so you won't fall A over T every time we 'ave to stop." 

I never rode a motorcycle before, this should be fun! 

"Okay!" I climbed on behind Freeza and felt his tail wind itself once around my waist. For safety's sake I grabbed onto his narrow shoulders. And prayed that my hair didn't wind up tangled in the rear tire. "Let's go!" 

"Better 'ang on tight back there." Freeza twisted the accelerator a final time. With a screech of rubber and a vibrating roar from the engine, we were off! It was like flying! My hair and stomach will be a tangled mess later, but oh well! Both of us almost ate it turning onto the road, but Freeza leaned the other way just in time. He obviously knew exactly what he was doing. "Now where's the mall?" 

Damn, I wasn't sure. "I don't remember, I only went once. I do know it had a billboard that told the date, time and temperature near the driveway where you turn in." 

"No worries, 'luv. I'm keen as mustard to try this baby out anyway." He chuckled excitedly. Leaning forward, he poured juice into the engine and sent us ripping down the main road. Completely ignoring the red stoplight at the intersection. We ramped off a little hump in the road, came to a tooth-jarring landing and tore off into the heart of the city, the roaring engine echoing off the buildings.   
  


Just when I thought Western City wasn't experiencing the same chaos I saw on the news...Freeza and I pulled into a huge traffic jam. People were halfway out of their cars, screaming. Others had fist-fights on the sidewalk. One man threw another man into a store window, shattering it with a loud crash. 

The motorcycle halted behind a small red hovercar with a yellow-haired driver and a very tanned passenger. I looked around in sad dismay. 

"Shit, look at this mess!" 

"We gotta find another way around." Freeza lifted his foot and turned the handlebars, "'ang on, I'm gonna chuck a yewy and roll between the cars up ahead." The motorcycle slowly rolled in a half-circle. I clung nervously to Freeza's shoulders as we turned around yet again and started gliding between the cars. Had either of us been just an inch taller, our combined bulk would not have fit in the small spaces. More than once I pressed my knees tighter to the seat to keep the skin from being scraped off. 

People honked and cussed at us when we passed. Freeza ignored them, but I couldn't. I just cringed the whole time. We got past the traffic jam unscathed. But what existed beyond made the mess of cars seem like nothing. 

Immense smoke pillars rose from buildings on the horizon. Three cylindrical towers with spheres on top lay collapsed on their sides, broken like giant twigs. Fires raged unchecked. 

I heard Freeza gasp. He gripped the handlebars harder. "Crikey! The world is goin' mad!" 

"Piccolo isn't there...somehow I just know he isn't. Let's check the mall first. That sounds harsh, but...we just have to find him before anything else." 

"Fluorescent green needle in a 'aystack. If the bloke was thirty feet tall 'e'd be easier to spot." 

"Yeah well, he's seven feet tall." I closed my eyes and sighed. My mind formed a perfect mental image of an unsmiling Piccolo standing with his handsome face half-shadowed, his arms crossed and wind playing in his cape. My heart pounded instantly. I could smell his salty outdoor scent and feel his smooth fingertips tracing my cheek. Piccolo always touched my face when he thought I was sleeping. A sudden jerk from the motorcycle jolted me from my daydream. My stomach knotted up. "Stop the bike! I'm gonna throw up." 

Freeza stopped the motorcycle and stared ahead while I blew chunks in the bushes by the street. White frothy goop, probably the remains of the fizzy electrolyte drink Freeza offered me earlier. Didn't ginger-ale exist in this realm? I really wished for a bottle of the stuff right then. It always settles my stomach. 

I felt like someone glued an anvil to my head when I straightened again. That familiar sensation I feel when I have a fever. I was dizzy, the headrush kind. I barely made it back to the motorcycle, and put my head down against Freeza's back when I'd straddled the leather seat. Freeza didn't protest to or refuse my action. 

"We'll take a squizz for one hour...if we don't find Piccolo, I'm takin' you back to the Capsule place and comin' back 'lone. You're not well enough to be pokin' around like this." 

"But - " 

"Bite your bum. You can't fight Void if you're so sick you can't distinguish your arse from your 'ead." 

I sighed regretfully. Every inch of me ached. Whoever put rocks in my joints is going to die. "Fiiiiiine, one hour. Let's hurry." 

Of course my body screamed at me to lay down and rest. But I just couldn't, not when I feared the one I loved so much was in danger. My mind is a scary thing when it gets to thinking of worst-case scenarios. I forced myself not to think that way. Piccolo is one sly Namek...he'd be cunning enough to avoid hurting people or getting hurt himself. 

Then why didn't he come right back? 

Now I know how my dad feels whenever mom is late and doesn't call, or when I got out anywhere with someone he doesn't know well. He's probably sitting in my empty bedroom right now, scared out of his mind and wondering where I am. 

A different scent woke me from my reverie. Kind of a tangy smell like......gas! "Do you smell that?" 

"Smell what?" Freeza eased us around a pothole without slowing down. 

"Gas fumes." 

He turned his cheek into the wind a little. 

"...what are you doing?" 

"Smelling the air, ya boofhead." Freeza tapped the ridged pads lining his cheeks and I sensed a smile behind his voice, "You smell with your nose, I smell with these. Kinda like a snake sniffs with its tongue. Pretty 'andy for picking up poisonous fumes without breathin' 'em. And yeah I do smell gas...s'close. Very close." 

I hung on tighter. So tight in fact that he reached up and moved my arm down a bit because I was choking him. I don't even remember clamping an arm around his neck. "Can you tell where it's coming from?" 

"Left, in front of us somewhere. I'm guessin' that intersection several clicks a'ead. I'm gonna blow through it." Freeza glanced over his shoulder at me. I felt his tail tighten and press down against my hips for added safety. Boy was I glad he's so tiny, it made me feel safer knowing my arms wrapped fully around his narrow shoulders. He waited while I adjusted myself. "'ang on back there. Ready?" 

My poor joints ached so bad. I just wanted to sleep. "As I'll ever be. Let's hope my stomach keeps up." 

He laughed, a naturally harsh sound. "Just don't chunder on my back." 

"Feh." I did my best Piccolo impression, "Don't you worry, the wind will probably blow it back into my mouth." 

Freeza shook his horned head, nearly poking my eye out with one of his shiny black horns. "Nothin' like a mouthful of pavement pizza for lunch." 

I put a finger on the offensive sharp thing. It felt like polished ivory. "Let's just go...before...ah shit!" I leaned over far when I felt another spasm. My body acted like it was throwing up, but I had nothing left to puke out. "Well, no need to worry if I do this during the ride, nothing left. I'll just heave away when the urge comes." 

"Are you _sure_ you're up to this, 'luv?" 

"Yes! Please, let's go." 

Freeza shook his head slightly. "Poor thin'. You a'ready 'ave to run around in the shower to get wet. Lose too much weight and you're gonna disappear." 

"Freeza," I gave him a little squeeze and tried to be brave. Fever chills made me shiver violently. I felt like I'd been gargling my own puke. "Finding Piccolo is all I care about. I'll worry about myself when I know he's okay." 

"Right-o." He lifted his three-toed foot from the pavement and twisted the accelerator. The idling engine roared, vibrating my butt and legs. "I think the gas up a'ead is a busted line." 

I gazed over Freeza's shoulder at the wavering air. Something silver sparkled. A fuel truck? As Freeza and I drew closer I realized I was right. The truck sat jackknifed in the middle of the intersection. Its large back end blocked half the intersection and a tow-truck sat parked off to the side a little ways. Another tow-truck halted before the jackknifed semi. So this is what caused the traffic jam behind us! 

"I hope that truck is full..." 

"Ay?" 

I went on, "Empty gas trucks are more dangerous than full ones. Did you know gas fumes are worse than a puddle of gasoline on the ground? Strike a match and BOOM!" 

"I thought I 'eard somethin' about that on - " 

VRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!! 

A tiny black convertible whizzed past us. One of the tow-truck operators gestured at the insane driver to pull over. 

I heard a rumble from behind. Glanced over my shoulder to see one hovercar rear-end another. Suddenly all the jammed traffic started moving. Were those people really so crazy to think they'd get around that semi in the road!? 

Obviously so. The result? A small car pile-up on one side of the street and a mass of cars streaking down the other. I've never seen chaos erupt so fast. 

"The 'eck is all the kafuffle?" Freeza twisted his head around and his shades reflected the mess behind us. 

I kept watching the road ahead. Just when I thought nothing could get worse, it did. A car spun out of sight. The fuel trick bucked, tipped over and exploded! A fireball erupted into the sky. Window shattered and glass rained down in the street. The truck wasn't quite empty, a huge fuel puddle spread fire across the road. Flames ten feet high covered the pavement. 

And we were rolling straight for it! 

"FREEZA!!!" 

Freeza whipped his head back around. "'oly-dooly! Desp'rate times call for desp'rate measures!" 

He kept going straight for the fire! 

I screamed, "**_ARE YOU INSANE?!?!_**" 

"TRUST ME!" Freeza turned the motorcycle just a little, aiming for the tow-truck. He pulled his shades down on his nose and fired his eyelasers at a chain on the back, knocking the metal car-holding tray down to street-level. It landed at a steep angle. "'ang on tight!" He twisted the accelerator further and the engine screamed. We raced towards the makeshift ramp at break-neck speed. Blistering heat drew closer. The wind whipped my face and blasted my hair back. Gasoline fumes nearly choked me. 

The front tire hit the makeshift incline. A second later we rolled up without losing any speed. We left the ramp and leapt straight through the wall of fire. 

Ka-**BOOM!!**

The rest of the semi exploded just as the rear tire passed above it. The fireball nearly engulfed us! More prickling warmth seared Freeza and I from behind. My ears popped because it was so loud. I saw nothing but flames and insanity in the handlebar mirrors. The shockwave rattled the motorcycle and my bones. So did the rough landing. 

It was all over in less than five seconds, yet felt like an eternity. Let's just hope my heart stays in my chest where it belongs! 

Freeza abruptly turned the bike sideways, bringing us to a screeching halt. He put his foot down like a kickstand and stared in awe at the fire we just barely escaped. Sweat shimmered on his cheeks and nose. 

"Maybe I shouldn't 'ave watched Triple X before I came 'ere." He gave me a reassuring squeeze with his tail and peered at me over the rim of his cool black shades. "Did I do a good enough impression of that bald bloke?" 

"You...you show-off!" I clung to him, shaking like a leaf. "T-That was cool...let's NEVER do it again, okay?" 

Freeza chuckled a little. He pushed his Ray Bans back up on his nose. "No worries, 'luv. I promise I'll be good from 'ere on out." 

No wonder. I've seen Triple X, I think it's a pretty cool movie. Lots of neat explosions! 

"Good. Now tell me, you didn't like the movie much, did you?" 

That made him grin like a sadistic clown. "Too right!" He glanced over his shoulder and turned the bike in the correct direction. "I see your billboard a few clicks a'ead. Looks like we found the mall." 

My stomach squeezed itself, but without anything to throw up I didn't worry about moving. I just waited for the pain to abate. "Then let's go...I need to find some ginger-ale when we get there. Think we can make it before my body tries to puke again?" 

"'ow long is a piece of string?" 

"Eh?" 

"Just teasin'." Freeza started the bike gently forward towards the nearest driveway, mindful of outgoing traffic and people running out to see what exploded. Me and Freeza drew quite a few stares, too, but I was too out of it to care. Freeza went on, "You rest on my back and stop worryin'. Gimme a few ticks." 

I didn't protest. "Okay." 

Maybe listening to my body's needs would've been easier than coming all the way here. By the time Freeza and I parked, I couldn't take four steps without getting a massive head-rush. Freeza carried me piggyback style into the mall. More stares greeted us. He placed me gently on a bench, felt my forehead and frowned disapprovingly. 

"You're burnin' up. That's it." He untied the jacket around his waist and wrapped it around my shoulders. I welcomed its warmth. Then he said, "Don't move from this spot. I'm gonna find you some of that ginger-ale, and then I'm lookin' for Piccolo alone. I'll bring 'im 'ere." 

"But - " 

Freeza shoved me back down. "Can it, 'luv. You're too wonky to go on. Even Saiyajin bodies 'ave limits. Sit still now and I'll be back in a tick." 

Deep down I knew Freeza was right. I curled up on my side, using my arms as a pillow. Not the most comfortable position in the world, but better than sitting up. Freeza pushed my hair out of the way and patted my shoulder before walking off. 

Man, if he doted over his young daughter this much whenever she got sick...well then he's a great dad. 

A minute later he came back with a bottle of fizzy liquid. "'ere, I popped the lid for you. Sip it down slow. Now I'm gonna find the green bloke." 

"Mmfanks." Was the only response I mustered. I picked my head up enough to sip from the glass bottle. My parched throat welcomed the cool fluid like a desert welcomes rain. I may puke later, but at least my mouth didn't taste like an old sock anymore. I screwed the lid back on and laid my head down on my arms again. 

Freeza left without me noticing. I didn't care anymore. Every inch of my body ached and felt heavy. I couldn't think straight. I shut my eyes and imagined myself in a nice, soft bed. _What I would give for some Tylenol..._   
  


"...so the old, half-blind indian guy made them for me." Piccolo's deep, raspy voice reached me from far away. He came closer as he spoke. "He did a ritual over each one as it was finished, I think he called it 'smudging'. If I'd known it would take this long I would've left to inform you and come back. Where is she?" 

Freeza's distinctive alto pipes answered, "I made 'er plant 'er bum on the bench over 'ere. Poor thin' couldn't make it through the parkin' lot. I woulda parked closer if the traffic wasn't such a problem." 

Words can never explain the relief I experienced when I heard Piccolo speak. If I wasn't sicker than a dog, I would've nailed him with a glomp hard enough to register on the Richter Scale. 

"Hm." Piccolo was right next to the bench now. Probably glowering down at my pathetic condition. "Hey, kid." 

I forced my eyelids open and stared up at Piccolo's handsome green face. "Heyyyyy! I'm gonna kill you for scaring me like that...you green butthead. Did you get the dream catchers?" 

"Yeah. Freeza has them right now." 

Freeza stepped into my peripheral vision, smiling a bit. Somehow I knew he was thinking about the awesome jump we did on the way to the mall. "Speakin' of, I'm gonna go put the motorcycle back in its Capsule and 'ead out. The traffic is bad and we ran into a nasty bungle on the way 'ere, so I'll just say 'ell with it and fly. See youse back at the Capsule Corporation in a bit. Don't take all arvo gettin' back." He patted the three small boxes cradled in a plastic bag. "'ooroo, mates." 

"See you soon, Freeza." Piccolo nodded and Freeza disappeared from my view. 

"Later ice-man." 

Two strong arms wrapped around my body and lifted me like a kitten. "Up you go." I found myself pressed to Piccolo's broad chest with my forehead resting against his thick neck. It was damp, he's always a little sweaty. His taut skin felt like water-cooled leather against my burning forehead. 

I caught him in a death grip and held on for dear life, inhaling his salty outdoor scent. _I'm never letting go of you again after THAT nightmare!_ All those frightening images my mind conjured up melted away. I let my hand slide up and rub behind his large, pointed ear. Piccolo rewarded me with a throaty rumble, almost a little purr. 

"Piccolo, I was so worried! The news was saying stuff about worldwide insomnia and people going insane. I mean...people are seeing Void in their dreams and becoming too afraid to sleep at all. Everyone's exhausted. She's, you know, making people attack themselves and each other." I burped unexpectedly and blushed. Good thing it wasn't in his face! "Uhhh...I want a bed and Tylenol..." 

"Enough, we're leaving." He scowled, "You're resting until the fever disappears, no exceptions. You aren't any good in the fight if you're sick and weak. After you get well, you'll be eating and training to regain your strength. Maybe I'll train Freeza and Vegeta a little, using the same techniques I used to train you. Those two may not need it, but I want to be sure myself." 

"Okay. Just one sec...one thing." I clung tighter to him, "Sorry about all this...I was just worried and I wanted to see you were okay with my own eyes. Now I can relax. Hey, big guy...love you." 

Piccolo found my impatience to see him somewhat amusing. "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you," I heard him say jokingly. He tucked my tangled hair behind my ear and laid his cool palm across my burning forehead. "Your fever's getting worse. You poor kid...let's get you back to the Capsule Corporation and bring your temperature down." 

Movement and shifting. I squeezed my eyes shut when Piccolo carried me outside and took off. 

"Sorry I messed up all our plans." 

He shook his head and tightened his hold on me a bit. "Nah. You can't control it if you fall ill. It happens to everyone. Now shut up and put your head down. I don't want to hear another peep out of you until you've rested. All this running around made it worse for you. I guess it's my fault for not coming back to tell you I'd be longer than I expected...I'm sorry about that." 

"It's okay...I know you're all right. I can relax n- oh God." I covered my mouth and tried not to heave. Piccolo stopped and quickly flipped me facedown like a football. There went all the ginger-ale I drank on the bench. My face was all red and tear-streaked. I've never thrown up so many times in one day for as long as I've lived. It scared me a little. "....sorry...let's hurry." 

Piccolo was such a sweetie to me. He held me with one arm, tore off a corner of his cape with his teeth and moistened it with water from his flask. He used it to wipe my face off, especially the icky crust around my mouth. Not once did he speak as this took place. By then I didn't care what happened to me. I just wanted a bed and some kind of pain relief! 

"That's it. No more fooling around. No more puking. No more talking." He pushed my head down against his shoulder and took off towards the Capsule Corporation. 

That's the last thing I remember.   
  


Coldness beckoned me into dim awareness. Ice packs were pressed to my armpits, neck and stomach. I felt a cold cloth resting across my forehead. Someone packed bags of ice against my sides. The searing coldness made me shudder violently. 

I tried to squirm away. "Nooo....too cold..." 

Large hands pinned my shoulders down. I pulled my legs away from the cold packs pushed between my feet. Smaller hands grabbed my ankles, immobilizing them. 

"'Luv, be still now." 

I wrenched myself left and right, trying to break free. "Nooo!" 

"Shhh, settle down." Piccolo materialized in the haze above my head. "Bulma took one look at you and sent you down to the emergency facility. Your fever was measured at over a hundred and six degrees and climbing when I got you here. The nurse is going to put you on chilled intravenous fluids and antibiotics." 

"Cooooold." I whined again. 

Freeza let go of my left ankle long enough to scratch the inner corner of his eye. "It just seems worse 'cause of your fever. It'll be right, don't you worry." 

Piccolo ignored my complaints and continued holding me down. His eyes drifted to the plump nurse holding an IV catheter. I watched in sleepy fascination as she inserted the needle into the crook of my arm, taped it down and attached it to the condensation-fogged bag hanging above my bed. I only felt a little sting as the needle went in, that's it. Then she pushed a few buttons on the pump mechanism. It beeped, green and red numbers appeared and the little wheel whirred to life. 

Needles don't bother me unless they're stuck in my butt. I'm desensitized to them. I went through a lot of blood tests when I was a kid. My parents wanted to find out why I didn't grow at all for almost two years in a row. So I was put through a whole buttload of blood tests for Turner's Syndrome, growth hormone deficiencies and other disorders...and the doctors found nothing! My growth hormone levels were normal. They tried taking me off my medication, which only succeeded in making me bounce off the walls. That didn't make me grow anymore. More tests and more NOTHING. I think I baffled their expertise too, according to the tests I have a very slow metabolism and SHOULD be morbidly obese. That just shows how much those idiot doctors know, huh? Years later, a psychologist tested me and discovered my autism. Eureka! That's what caused the developmental delay and deviant behavior! Of course, my parents didn't tell me that when I was diagnosed at age fourteen. I always knew I wasn't like the other people in my classes. I didn't learn I was autistic until, at age seventeen, I stumbled across the papers Dr. Berg wrote up about me. I threw a HUGE fit. It took my mom two hours to get me calm enough so she could explain everything. 

That was five years ago. I got over it. Now that I'm aware of why I act like I do, I don't worry too much about my weird speech patterns, immaturity and obsessions. I exist on my own wavelength. So what if people see me as a simple person who acts like a kid. Let them! It's so much more fun when I turn around later and prove I'm more aware of the world than they think! 

Anyway, I became fascinated with the needle in my arm and the memories it brought back. I wanted to pick at the damn thing. The tape itched a bit because it was wrinkled against my skin. More coldness from the IV fluid crept up my arm and into my body. I shivered violently. The F-word found its way into my complaints. 

My incessant griping did finally get me a blanket. Even though I had ice under my armpits, on my stomach, packed against my sides and in my blood...my fever-stupified brain thought I was getting warm. I stopped shivering. Much better! 

"Temp's going down." 

More delirious babbling from me, "Oh no...did I miss the fight?!" 

The question was so pointless and dumb that Piccolo and Freeza both laughed out loud. Piccolo gave more of an ultra-sexy cackle than a laugh. 

"That proves it! She'll be apples." Freeza struggled desperately to quiet down. He knew full well that too much laughing stirs me up. When muffling his giggles with his hand didn't work, he staggered out of the room. I heard him slap the wall and crack up in the hallway. "Miss the fight....WEEHEHEHEHE!!" 

Piccolo gazed down at me with a wry half-grin, one fang gleaming. "I wouldn't worry about fighting anything other than your sickness right now. Nobody's intentionally going after Void until you're back to a hundred percent." 

"Mm." 

The Namek inhaled noisily and looked around. We were the only two in the room, he seemed pleased at this discovery. Piccolo caressed the side of my face with his knuckles. He lowered his voice to a deep whisper, "I don't think my soul could take it if I lost you, Cyndi." His eyes softened as he went on, "Rest and get well, I'll stay here with you." 

"Piccolo," I asked bluntly, "Do you love me?" 

"Feh." Piccolo's cheeks gained a purple hue. He exhaled with a quiet, controlled laugh through closed lips and gave me one of his usual cryptic replies. "I think you already know the answer to that, kid." He brushed my bangs aside and bent down. Warm lips touched softly against my brow, making my heart pound. One of the rare times where he kissed me without being physically enticed into doing so. Maybe he finally understands what the gesture means. 

The careful fingers combed my bangs back to where they belonged - spiked in every direction but down. He glanced at the rapidly-beeping pulse monitor and shook his head. 

I glanced at it too. "It's all your fault." 

Piccolo just rolled his eyes. He smiled and sat down on the floor to meditate. "Go to sleep." 


	15. Part Fourteen

Self-insertion, mild violence and language warning. Sorry I took a little longer than usual to get this part up. I kept getting that stupid 'site is experiencing overload' message at the log in screen ~_~;;   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Fourteen

  
  
  
  
  
  


Void floated through my line of sight, her form as vague and insubstantial as a reflection on water. She couldn't touch me and I was unable to touch her. Such was the lightness of my visionary slumber - no matter how sick I get, I can't sleep during the day. I get very close, but never all the way and I can wake up at will. When I wasn't "half-sleeping", I was aware of people peeking in and leaving. 

Somebody cracked the vertical blinds on the opposite wall. They're black though, so not much light came inside. I was glad for that. 

Piccolo sat right by the bed, propped comfortably against the wall. He looked so content, yet severe, his chin almost completely buried in his abundant collar. I sleepily studied how slivers of sunlight created tiger-stripe patterns over his large form. One fell across his frowning brow-ridges and shadowed his closed eyes even more, almost like he wore natural sunglasses. His lips were drawn into a tight little line. I watched his chest heave and make his crossed arms move. How the various folds of his white cape and gi brushed his ridged green skin. His half-hidden brown shoes. Aside from breathing, he sat perfectly still. Sweat beads made him appear dew-covered and shiny. 

I had to smile while I watched him. _Piccolo...you'd make an excellent gargoyle. Maybe I should show you my tapes of the program back home...man, even Disney would've edited DBZ better than FUNi..._ I giggled in silence at my thoughts. Somehow I just can't imagine Piccolo "drawn" Gargoyles-style. _Besides, you're a million times cuter than Goliath..._

_Who is this 'Goliath'?_ An intense black eye slid open and turned towards me. A dark gem in the bit of sunlight. He quirked his mouth into a small smirk. _Well?_

Oops, I forgot AGAIN that he can hear my thoughts. "Just a character on another show I used to watch, but he's taken. I don't lust after people that're already taken by somebody else." 

"Oh I see." Piccolo inhaled and sat up straight until the back of his head touched the wall, his whole body tense. His face showed strain. Something cracked four times...I think it was his back. The tense expression melted to stoicness. The Namek rolled his head and shoulders a little, popping them too. Then he relaxed into his original pose again and exhaled a little white cloud through his mouth. That's the closest I'll ever get to seeing Piccolo actually stretch for comfort. 

My smile faded. Something I'd been thinking about a lot while I rested surfaced. "Piccolo, what if the same chaos we see here is going on in my world too? People I know...my parents even...mentioned seeing Void in their dreams at least once." 

He uncrossed his arms and rested his hands in his lap. I noticed he was wearing the gold ring I gave him after the very first fight with Void. He toyed with it a little, twisting it back and forth. I think Piccolo has such gorgeous hands. So slender with those long, tapered fingers and sharp nails. Those hands, they're capable of such incredible violence and amazing gentleness. 

"It's highly possible...what we see here may be equally reflected in your Reality. Everyone dreams, and where there are dreams to destroy, Void will be there. She doesn't care about race, gender or age. But..." A smirk snuck past his otherwise serious expression, "The Believers are still out there. Their existence slows her progress immensely." 

"Yeah, they're tough." I closed my eyes and sighed. "I feel one with us now." 

Piccolo lifted his head, looked around and closed his eyes. He started to smile, aware of your presence too. 

"Hello, Believer. I know you're here." 

He's talking to you. 

Yes, _you._

"Stay with us through this, you're just as important to the fight as we are. Don't give up, you have more power within you than you realize. Stay close to your dream catcher if you have one. Don't let Void conquer you. You're the key to whether we win or lose this fight. I Believe in you." 

"They'll listen...even be thrilled you talked to them." I smiled and closed my eyes. "They're strong..." 

Piccolo faced me fully and tilted his head, worried. Then he saw I was just returning to my half-sleeping state. He relaxed again. Aww, how sweet! "Quit talking so much, it's wasting your strength." 

"Mm." I sighed through my teeth and turned over onto my right side. Reaching out, I cupped his cheek in my palm. "You're the most gorgeous man I've ever seen, Piccolo." 

Piccolo's long fingers encircled my wrist. He stared back at me with parted lips, his face lined in seriousness. The same expression he wore just before he cried out all his pain. His eyes were moist, but he didn't shed any tears this time. "Am I really what you say I am?" 

"That and then some." My fingers found that special spot behind his ear again. Sometimes I swear it arouses him on some level neither of us can explain. It made me wonder if his body was capable of feeling that kind of pleasure. I doubt it though, in Anime form his body has no physical need to mate. "I wish we could...you know...right now, only you'd touch me the same way I touch you." 

The blush present on Piccolo's cheeks spread across his nose and ears. He looked so cute. "Well uh..." he faked a cough against his fist. "Let's not worry about mating right now - " 

"Animals mate. People make love." 

" - Errr... make love. Right." Now his whole face was PURPLE. "Anyway, let's not worry about that right now. Get better first and then..." he cleared his throat and licked his lips, "...I'll think about letting you have your way with me. But _don't_ let it control your every thought. Void is our first priority after you're healthy again." 

"I can't leave you two alone for a tick, can I? Talkin' about havin' a naughty, are we? Heheh..." Freeza peeked around the corner with an evil grin stretching his ebony lips. He stepped into the room, put a hand behind his head and made a very suggestive movement with his hips. "Just do it like this, mate. She'll moan like crazy, I promise!" Then he twirled an invisible hula hoop and puckered his lips, briefly revealing those fine lines I saw earlier. "Or you can go this way for some variety. Heh, heh! Either way works!" 

Piccolo and I both sweatdropped. I started snickering, but I think Piccolo wanted to crawl under the bed and hide. Freeza getting all hoochie-goochie...now that's funny! 

I turned over onto my back for a better view of Freeza's hilarious antics. "What? You're an expert or something?" 

"You bet! 'ey, I didn't know you Nameks could crack a fat!" 

I blanched. "Freeza! Oh my God!" 

"Rrmm..." Piccolo palmed his face and shook his head. His ears were so purple they matched his turban. 

Freeza grinned innocently, "Oops, did I say somethin' embarrassin'? I'm soooooo s'rry." 

I looked at Freeza. Freeza looked at me. We both laughed pretty hard. Poor Piccolo, he just didn't get it. Any talk or jokes relating to sex go right over his head. I mean, he wouldn't recognize an innuendo if it bit his ass, threw him on the ground and jumped on his head! 

The silly fun came to an end when a fresh wave of dizziness washed over me. I stopped laughing and rested my head on the pillow. Dammit, I hate being sick - it ruins everything! 

Oh well, at least I got a good laugh from the situation.   
  


"That's it, take it nice and easy." Piccolo calmly held onto my arm and aided me towards the kitchen table. My fever was gone and my stomach started asking for food again. I didn't feel fully well yet, but I didn't feel like I wanted to curl up and die either. Vegeta told me it would probably take twelve hours for my immune system to beat the bug. That means I had five more to go. 

I planted my butt on the wooden chair and let my breath out. Hard to believe a stupid fever took so much out of me. Moments later I found myself drooling over a bowl of chicken-noodle soup. I don't care how sick I still was, that soup smelled delicious! It took every ounce of self-control to eat it slowly. I was so hungry! The warm broth soothed my dry throat. I got lost in how bits of chicken and noodles squished against my teeth and tongue. 

"Crackers?" 

Freeza grabbed some off the table. Courtesy of Mrs. Briefs. "'ere you go, 'luv. Catch." 

I closed my fingers too soon. The crackers bounced off and landed in my lap. Damn, how do they catch the Senzu beans one-handed like that? I picked the package up, tore the wrapper open and crushed the crackers into crumbs that I dumped into the broth. Stirred to get them all mushy. Yum, yum. 

I felt a lot stronger when I finished. Almost like I ate a Senzu bean. I guess my body was instantly absorbing the nutrients it lost through all the puking, pooping and sweating. 

Then Mrs. Briefs came out with everyone else's dinner(excluding Piccolo, of course). Chicken. Steak. Ramen noodles. Rice. Beans. Salads. Pasta. Mashed potatoes. Sushi. Sliced fruit. 

No fair! 

"Looks like good grub to me," exclaimed Freeza, his eyes gleaming. He picked up his chopsticks and clicked them eagerly together. "I'm 'ungry enough to eat the 'orse and chase the jockey." 

"Suit yourself," Piccolo added in from his spot by the wall. 

Then Vegeta took his place at the table. He rudely grabbed the bowl of rice Freeza was reaching for. "Hold on, Freeza. I'm not eating anything contaminated by your filthy hands. You're in my house, so I take the liberties here." Wearing a satisfied smirk, he started spooning rice into the little bowl by his plate. 

"You're such a figjam!" the Icejin sneered. He picked up the bowl Vegeta nearly emptied and scooped what little remained into his rice-bowl, barely filling it to the rim. "Your block's so thick you won't 'cept the obvious truth. I pity you sometimes. You can't change what 'appened by actin' like a dag." 

"Spare me." Vegeta snarled. 

Freeza didn't answer, he knew perfectly well he wouldn't change Vegeta's mind. He waited while the Saiyajin hogged the contents of every bowl and tray, and took the remains for himself. Then he started to eat silently. I could tell his feelings were hurt by his lack of a witty response. 

"Grow up, Vegeta," I began. "What Freeza said is true, you can't change the past. So why dwell on it? It wasn't even Freeza that hurt you all those years ago." 

I received an icy glare from Vegeta. He snarled with his mouth still full, "He looks like the source of my past anguish. That's reason enough to want him licking the filth off my boots." 

"You're pathetic." 

He spat out a mouthful of crumbs. "WHAT?!" 

"'luv, don't." Freeza leaned over and touched my arm, "s'okay." His statement was reinforced by a warning growl from Piccolo. 

I shook him off and ignored Piccolo's wordless rumble. "No, I'm tired of listening to him insult you." Then I turned back to Vegeta, "You're a sad case, you know. Always putting other people down to make yourself bigger. You're just like all the bullies I had through school! You're nobody's king, you know. You're just one of few survivors of a dead world populated by a cruel race! _Void_ did all those things to you, she just used Freeza to do it. I mean...if you were a real man, you'd look past Freeza's appearance, see who he really is and take your anger out on the real culprit. But nooooo, instead you have to act like a spoiled brat! You suck!" 

Vegeta sat there and stared at me when I finished my little speech. At first I thought I'd really hurt his feelings - which was my intention. He stared at the table, put his chopsticks down and closed his eyes. Suddenly he threw his head back, guffawing madly. He was laughing at me. 

"AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh, that was rich! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!" He clutched his stomach, flecks of rice and meat stuck to his lips, "If you weren't just a lowly female with a weak power, I MIGHT have been truly insulted! Brave words, twig-girl. They fall on deaf ears." 

WEAK?! 

A hot knot swelled in the pit of my stomach. It made my heart pound and my muscles tighten. My hands balled into fists. The blood roared through my ears. _I'll show you weak, you arrogant piece of shit!_

My short temper and Saiyajin blood don't mix. Not one bit. Especially since I still throw tantrums! 

"Grr....you...RAAAAAUGHHH!!" I smashed my fist into the table. It broke in half, spilling plates, food and silverware onto the floor amidst broken wood. My hair and tail bristled. Power snapped into being around me. Everything on the floor found new residence on the walls, ceiling and anything in between. 

Vegeta didn't even move. "You don't scare me, girl. I can break you in half any time I want!" 

"WILL YOU GROW THE HELL UP, ASSHOLE!? **YOU'RE _NOT_ THE STRONGEST FIGHTER IN THE UNIVERSE!!** GOKU WILL **_ALWAYS_** SURPASS YOU, SO STOP ACTING LIKE YOU'RE OUR LEADER, BECAUSE YOU'RE _NOT!!_" Then I flew straight into him, screaming the whole way. I felt sick satisfaction when I buried my knee solidly in his crotch. 

Vegeta made a gagging noise. For a second I actually thought he'd puke his balls up. He doubled forward against me, his eyes bulging and bloodshot. I smashed my fist into his exposed jaw. His head snapped backwards. 

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, PUNK! HUH?! STILL THINK I'M WEAK?!" I just kept pounding him. Over and over. Vegeta covered his face with his arms, he was in too much agony to really defend himself much more than that. A blow to the crotch will disable any man no matter how strong he is. 

I _enjoyed_ Vegeta's pain in the same sadistic way I enjoyed watching Piccolo writhe in the Time Chamber. The Saiyajin in me took over. I wanted to see him suffer! 

Raising my arm, I called more ki forth. It oozed from my navel, up my arm and congealed into a white-hot sphere above my palm. Vegeta was on the ground below me, holding his crotch with both hands. I smiled cruelly at him, "You look pathetic. Some prince you are...you don't even deserve the title." 

Suddenly a huge force grabbed me around the waist. I was yanked off Vegeta and dragged, kicking and screaming, away from his prone form. Poor Freeza didn't know what to do. He just sat there in his chair, covered in food and staring at me like I was a monster about to eat him alive. Then he glanced over at Vegeta, but didn't move. 

I struggled in vain against the strong green arms. "NO! I'm going to beat his face in for what he said!" 

"STOP IT!" Piccolo shouted angrily in my ear. He whipped me around, grabbing my face between hands capable of effortlessly crushing my skull. That was enough to make me stop squirming. I found myself staring at a snarling emerald face. Liquid black eyes burned into mine, "Stop it this instant! We can't afford to fight amongst ourselves right now!" 

"I'm tired of his shitty mouth!" 

He shook me. "And I'm tired of yours! You're both out of line. I want you back in bed, you're still not well enough to be running around. Freeza and I will keep Vegeta away from you. What you did wasn't smart, you know. He doesn't like to be caught by surprise and beaten, especially by a female like you." 

I sneered, showing my teeth. My tail twitched on its own accord behind me. "Good, someone has to put him in his place! If his stupid ego gets any bigger, the planet is gonna tilt off its axis." 

Piccolo gave me another hard shake and bared his teeth right back at me. His were much more menacing, "This is NOT the time, Cyndi!" Ugh, his breath stunk for some reason. Probably because his mouth was dry from water rationing. 

I made a face. My breathing gradually calmed down. The energy prickling under my skin disappeared back into my being. I relaxed and sagged a little as the tight anger-knot in my stomach came loose. I always feel tired after a fit of rage. "You're right...I guess I went a little crazy. Sorry I ruined everything." I felt bad, especially for Vegeta and Freeza. I wrecked the dinner table and their food! "I think I'll go to bed now...tell Vegeta I'm sorry." 

"Don't worry about it. They'll order a pizza or something, I'm sure." Piccolo's hands loosened their grip around my face. He smoothed my wild hair down a bit, his expression unreadable. "All things considered though...that was quite a display back there, and this is while you're sick." 

"I know. I can't believe that was _me..._I just go crazy and lose all sense of reason." I gazed into the kitchen again. Freeza, Mrs. Briefs and a cleaning robot were picking up the mess I made. Vegeta was nowhere to be found. My guess is he's sulking somewhere like he always does when he loses a battle. 

A smirk tilted Piccolo's mouth upwards. Him and his sexy little half-smile. "Go on and get some rest. Take a dream catcher into the room with you...just in case. I'll join you in a little while." 

"Okay." I stood on my tip-toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. Piccolo actually lowered his head and puckered up for me. Like he was expecting...and wanting me to kiss him. He appeared smugly satisfied with the pink spreading over my face. I picked up one of the boxes Freeza carried back from the mall and staggered into the bedroom, lost in a happy daze.   
  


Tired as I was, you'd think I would fall immediately to sleep, right? 

WRONG! 

I couldn't get comfortable. My mind kept spinning in circles. I spent more time squirming into cooler parts of the sheets than I did resting. Don't you just hate it when that happens? 

Finally, I sat up and looked around the dim room. Freeza and Piccolo were both sound asleep on mattresses set up on the floor. Piccolo managed to sleep in his cape and turban...just how comfortable is that get-up anyway? 

Freeza had a slight snoring problem. Thank goodness he only did it when his mouth was open. At least his snoring wasn't very loud - it sounded like kittens purring. 

I crawled off the bed, picked my way over the sleeping bodies and wandered into the hall. Emptying my bladder sounded good. I tip-toed towards the bathroom situated around the bend. 

Two minutes later found me sitting on the kitchen floor in front of an open fridge, eating some cold pizza I discovered on the bottom shelf. Definitely leftovers from the meal everybody ate after the ruined dinner was cleaned up. Cold pizza rules, it makes the perfect breakfast and midnight snack! 

Movement behind me. I should've paid attention to it, but didn't. I shoved the pizza box back where I found it, closed the fridge and turned around. 

Vegeta stood _right there_, inches from me. He still had some bruises from earlier. Mostly around his mouth and left eye. He was staring at me with undisguised anger burning in his eyes. Such a man of pride, he was, and he didn't take kindly to having his ego bruised by someone like me. 

Before I could scoot aside, Vegeta locked a hand around my throat. His fingers encircled more than half of my neck. He squeezed so tightly his nails dug in and the blood vessels in my eyes throbbed. I stared at two cold, dark irises that boiled with inner rage. Any smugness I felt earlier made itself scarce behind the swelling fear pumping through my stomach. 

Vegeta pinned me hard against the chilly refrigerator door and leaned close. So close his lips were by my ear. "If you EVER humiliate me like that again...." He forced me to look into his narrowed eyes, letting me know the reality of his threat. Every word he spoke dripped like acid into my soul, "...I will kill you where you stand. Understood, _female?_" 

"Y-yes." I croaked, unable to speak properly with my breath cut off. What else could I say? I just wanted him to go away! 

The hand clamped on my windpipe let go. I sank to my knees on the freezing tile floor, clutching my throat and gasping for air. Vegeta pulled a drumstick from a drawer in the fridge and disappeared down the hall. Leaving me alone again to re-think my own strength, and how stupid I was to attack him like that. I'd forgotten - Vegeta is an expert fighter...knowledgable in endless ways to torture and kill people. He'd destroy me with a flick of his eyelids if he wanted to. What the hell possessed me to believe I had a chance against him? 

Ouch, my pride felt that one. 

I staggered back into the room where Freeza and Piccolo slept. Piccolo was on his back with his hands draped off the mattress. Freeza lay sprawled out on his stomach with the tangled sheets falling off his small body. I chuckled to myself - he'd stripped to his birthday suit, saying he liked to sleep naked("In the nuddy," as he put it). If there was more light in the room, I would've lifted the sheet off his legs and peeked at him. 

Geez. I'm such a perv, huh? 

I padded to Piccolo's mattress and sat down. Gently lifted his right hand and stroked it like a kitten. Like his face, his hand felt like leather stretched tightly across bone and tendon. My fingertips followed a thick vein from his knuckles to the fleshy rings around his wrist. I brought the hand to my lips and kissed it softly, then rested my cheek against the warm palm. Piccolo murmured softly under his breath, but didn't wake up. I wish could've seen his peaceful face. In the darkness I only made out his outline and the white of his cape. 

Ten ton weights fell across my eyelids. The sleepiness hit me like a megaton of bricks. I smiled at myself and let my head rest on Piccolo's broad chest. His slow heartbeat greeted me, a gentle cadence between quiet breaths. So warm and alive. 

_Oh Piccolo...your heart is so wonderful. I'm glad you're letting me see the treasures hidden inside, even though it's just a little glimpse at a time. I feel complete when I'm with you. We must be soulmates...why else would I be so drawn to you all the time? I see so much of myself in you, it's scary. You're the only person that understands how I think and experience things. I'm strong when you're near me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you..._

I was still thinking out loud when I fell asleep.   
  


Void appeared in the shadows behind me. Her metallic, cigarette-smoke scent bombarded my nose. We stood back to back, surrounded by a thin, ever-shifting silver mist. Bright light came from an unseen source above like spotlights shrouded in steam. Everything looked distorted - especially shadows. I cringed inwardly. The air brewed with energy, a thunderstorm of heated tension that threatened explosive breakage at the slightest provocation. 

Very eerie indeed. 

"I know your secret, Void." I said boldly, trying to sound braver than I felt. "It won't be long before you get your ass handed to you." 

She laughed, a sound so harsh it could scrape the pavement off a sidewalk. "You're a fool if you think you can beat me. I'm stronger every time you meet me." 

One of many things Piccolo taught me was an awareness of my environment and the people in it. To feel subtle changes in the air currents for clues to my opponent's movements. Quite useful if I can't actually see my foe. And Void isn't hard to feel - she's huge. I knew exactly where her tail, arms and legs were positioned. 

Movement from above! Tail! 

I dove to the left and did a shoulder-roll. No thinking involved. I came up in a battle stance, eyes on the living shadow. "Damn you! What game are you playing with me?" 

"I don't think it has a name yet. Maybe I should call it...Dueling with Oblivion." Void fixed her silver eyes squarely on my face. Her piercing gaze twisted something inside me. I wanted to look away and avoid the searing coldness in her stare, but I didn't. To do so would let her know she's intimidating me. 

"Booooooooring." 

Void's lips...if you can call them lips...twisted into a smirk that made one eye squint. She placed a long-fingered hand on her hip and shifted her weight to one leg. Dark patterns danced over her ever-changing armored flesh like reflected sunlight on moving water. Her metallic stinger twinkled dangerously. "You're so funny I forgot to laugh." 

My muscles tensed when her tail moved again. _Dammit...where are Piccolo and Freeza?! I know they were both asleep when I last saw them!_

"Oh I haven't paid those two a visit yet," she answered as if I'd actually spoken. "I find you more fun to pick on, since you always have something _hilarious_ to say when I annoy you." The black creature started to walk aimlessly to the right, three-toed feet making slapping sounds on the ground. Almost a strut. I watched her every move. She was up to something. 

And I was right. 

Void blurred from view, but she wasn't after me. I heard shouts in the shadows. Skin hitting skin. The thud of a body falling. Void reappeared, still wearing that smug smile. 

"Someone has been spying on us..." She held Freeza up by the horns, her eyes cruel. The Icejin wore an expression of wide-eyed horror. This was the creature that murdered him so gruesomely a few years back. And they say your nightmares can't hurt you... 

Freeza grimaced. He still had enough wits about him to speak. "Get outta 'ere while you still can! Save yourself!" 

I snapped reflexively into my fighting stance. "No, I'm not leaving you!" 

"You think you can save him?" Void cackled madly, frigid eyes flashing with glee while Freeza struggled helplessly. I watched her tail arch over her shoulder. She flicked the stinger against the side of Freeza's frail neck. Freeza twisted in pain. Scarlet blood exploded from the wound like a geyser. He twitched and fought, trying to break free. One jerk of his arm saved him from having acid injected into his body...but he was bleeding to death! 

"Freeza! NOOOO!!!!"   
  


I jackknifed into a sitting position. Piccolo wasn't in bed anymore - I sensed him out in the living room. At least I knew Void didn't get to him without my knowledge. 

Thick liquid squirted onto my face. I licked my cheek and discovered a metallic taste like...blood! Turning on a light only made the horror more real. 

Crimson fluid gushed from Freeza's neck like water from a Super Soaker nozzle. It sprayed across the room in torrents each time his heart beat. I could actually _hear_ it spurting out, such was the force he bled. He still struggled against his invisible foe. Everything around him was splattered with patches of red. My hair and clothes were sticky with it. 

"Freeza! **_WAKE UP!!_**" Racing to his side, I pressed my hand hard against the gushing wound and screamed for Piccolo. "**_PICCOLO!!_**" 

Piccolo raced into the room, gasped in horror and skidded down to my side. Freeza continued his squirming, his eyes tightly closed and his face growing more pale than normal. The blood kept pumping out against my hand and squirting between my fingers, exiting his body with the force of a firehose. 

"Shit!" Piccolo cursed. He yanked my hand away and examined the small wound. I heard him swear again when red fluid splashed his face and stained his white cape. "Okay, I found the artery. It isn't severed completely like I feared. But I can't reach it. Your fingers are smaller than mine. Reach in and clamp it between your fingers. Hold it tight. I'll get a medical aid in here." 

I peeked over Piccolo's shoulder. He was holding the wound open for me. Ewwww, it looked like a little purple mouth! "Uhhh.." 

Freeza's eyes fluttered. He was awake. "D-do it..." 

I had to clam up. Freeza's life was in my hands! "Okay!" I thrust my fingers into the tiny opening, found the slimy bleeder and trapped it between thumb and forefinger. It felt like a live worm! I squeezed with all my might. The pressure seemed intent on forcing my fingers apart. Some still leaked out, but at least it wasn't squirting. "Hang on, Freeza. Stay awake! You have to stay alive for your wife and little girl!" 

"No worries, 'luv," he smiled wryly, his lips and half his face painted a brilliant scarlet-red, "I'm not gonna - " his eyes started to roll back. 

I pinched his arm with my free hand. "Stay awake, Freeza!" 

Freeza blinked and came back around. "Ungh..." 

This wasn't good. He lost so much blood already. Shock was setting in. I snatched the pillow Freeza flung aside in his sleep and used it to elevate his legs and tail. Then I pulled the blood-soaked sheets more fully over his prone form. His skin blanched more as the seconds ticked by. Even with the bleeding controlled, he was still weakening. Less blood meant less red cells. Less red cells meant less oxygen. His brain was suffocating. 

"Don't you go to sleep!" I pinched the side of his face with my nails. "Are you still with me?" 

Freeza's voice came out weak, "I'm still 'ere, 'luv. Just restin'." 

"Well, stop resting or you won't wake up again." New anger formed inside me. Void was going to pay for this! I growled in the back of my throat and made a silent promise to rip her throat out at the next opportunity. Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it! 

_Stop it! You can't be thinking about revenge at a time like this!_

Pallor continued its sweep over Freeza's effeminate features. He kept breathing in quick, shallow breaths. His skin was cold. Shock had set in despite my efforts to stop it. 

But I got an idea. Probably stupid, but worth trying. It might buy time! 

"Freeza, I want you to take deep breaths. Get a lot of oxygen into your blood." 

He did what I said. His chest rose and fell more effectively. Some of his color returned, but not enough. This method wouldn't help for long. Freeza's blood pressure was dropping - I knew this because the artery clamped between my fingers throbbed with less force than earlier. I felt so helpless! 

_Piccolo...I'm losing him. Please hurry!_


	16. Part Fifteen

Self-insertion, violence and language warning. Again, sorry for the minor delay. Hot weather + church functions + coming home to a house without air conditioning + my dad hogging up the computer = me being very distracted and tired. My mind just isn't capable of switching gears in a snap. Argh. I refuse to half-ass a chapter just because I'm pressed for time. If writing and making sure it's GOOD takes longer, then it'll have to take longer. It wouldn't be fair to you if I put up a chapter of crap now would it? ^_^ Hopefully the activities will settle down and I'll once again have all day to write as I please. Once more, sorry for the delay! *Runs away to work on the next chapter, dragging a very stone-faced Piccolo by the cape.* 

P.S. I don't hate Vegeta. Someone commented in a review that it sounded like I did. I've observed his personality and...he and I would not and do not get along very well, as you can see. :P   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Fifteen

  
  
  
  
  


_Piccolo...I'm losing him. Please hurry!_

Time became an enemy worse than Void. I hate how it breezes by when you're having fun, crawls slow when you're excitedly waiting for something, and ticks away faster than you can move when you're in a hurry! Especially since every second meant Freeza lost more blood and oxygen. 

"Sleepy." Freeza let his eyes drift shut again. "I just need a little nap." 

"No, no sleeping!" I pinched him back to awareness. It was getting harder and harder to keep him conscious. The blood slowly leaking through my clamped fingers formed a huge puddle around me. The bed, sheets, Freeza's shoulder and neck, my pant legs and my hands were completely covered. I've never seen so much blood before...it's a terrifying sight. 

Just like I do any other time when I get desperate for help, I crossed myself and prayed. "Dear Lord, please, if you're listening right now...don't take Freeza away. He has a family that needs him. I need the Holy Spirit to help me keep my head together just a little longer...please..." 

And God answered. 

Footsteps pounded down the hall and bodies filed into the room. Someone took my arm and tried to pull me away from Freeza. "No! If I let go, he'll die! I'm not letting go until I see a clamp on the artery!" 

"Okay, okay..." spoke a calm woman's voice. She whispered something to the team of medical professionals. A second later I felt cool latex and stainless steel touch my skin. I saw a tool resembling scissors without cutting blades jutting from the wound in Freeza's thin neck. The blood flow stopped completely. "Clamp is in place. Let us take over now." 

My fingers ached from being clenched in one position for so long. Another nurse occupied the space I just vacated. The other three squeezed in and went to work. None of them turned around to see if I was okay. 

Everything in the room carried the coppery smell of Freeza's blood. I only saw the brilliant crimson smattered everywhere. Even on the ceiling. My whole body, hands and face were covered in it. It made my hair mat together in sticky clumps. I looked like I just massacred an army. Or like I did the time Void murdered Freeza. Horrible flashbacks from that day haunted me. I staggered from the small room and down the hall in a complete daze. Staring at the blood on my hands with a hot lump swelling in my throat. The hard front I'd put on was starting to crumble. 

Tears blurred my vision before I could get halfway down the white-tiled corridor. I wiped them away, smearing the blood on my face even more. 

I felt a presence approach me silently from behind. But my legs wouldn't stop taking me away from the frightening room. The quiet presence followed me all the way down the hall and out through the elevator-like doors. A hand came down on my shoulder as soon as I stepped off the tile and onto polished wood. 

My tear-blurred eyes spotted a green shape sitting on the living room floor. 

Wait, if Piccolo was there, then who was... I twisted my head around and saw Vegeta's hand on my shoulder. My eyes turned blankly to his face. 

Vegeta stared across the room and did not meet my gaze. "You should feel lucky. These bloodstains will wash off." 

That was all he said. He lifted his hand away and disappeared. I didn't look to see where he went. His words didn't make me feel any better, nor did I think of their meaning. My mind wouldn't comprehend anything other than horror. 

In the haze of tears I saw flashes of Piccolo standing up and coming towards me. A blur of bloodstained white, emerald green, sky blue and deep purple. 

I turned my bloody hands palm-up and showed them to Piccolo. Then I broke down, sobbing so hard I would've crumpled to my knees at his feet if he hadn't caught me by the shoulders. I crushed two handfuls of his baggy gi in my fists and sobbed into his stomach. The hard, heaving sobs that turned the rest of my body into boneless jelly. Piccolo literally had to hold me up. 

"Hey..." he said, but I didn't acknowledge his voice. 

Next thing I knew, Piccolo and I were on the couch. My face found new residence against his neck, my tears dripping onto his green skin. He tried to pry my hands off his gi. I wouldn't let go. 

"Freeza will be okay." His breathy voice rumbled right in my ear. "You did good in there, keeping a cool head." 

"I couldn't protect him...I didn't even try...I-I-I just stood there while she slit his throat!" I gagged on my own tears and the smell of blood still present everywhere. It completely masked Piccolo's comforting scent. That distressed me more. "I doubted myself, Piccolo! And it...it almost got Freeza killed! I'm so STUPID!" 

Piccolo quieted me by hissing through his teeth. "What's done is done. It could've been worse, but it isn't. Freeza wouldn't be here if you didn't slap him around and keep that artery clamped shut." 

"But..." 

"Quiet. You need to settle down now. It's over, let it go." 

I listened to him, though it wasn't easy. The gripping knot of fear gradually released its hold on my chest. Then my choking sobs faded to sniffles and ceased entirely. Finally my awareness shifted back outwards. I heard other sounds and smelled more than the blood. People were talking down the hall. Piccolo's scent was still there. He was breathing slowly against my ear. I also noticed his arms were wrapped firmly around my shoulders. Tight enough that I felt his heartbeat, yet not so constricting that I couldn't move. 

Piccolo stared down at me with his dynamic black eyes. He didn't smile or sneer. The light was hitting him at an angle that let me see his lips perfectly - as opposed to just the usual tight line I'm used to. I wish I had a camera to capture it. 

"You should go get cleaned up before that blood congeals." 

"I'm not the only one, green giant." I allowed myself a slight half-smile. 

He eyed me suspiciously. Knowing exactly what was going through my mind, he said, "No." 

Blah! Piccolo knows me too well! 

"Aww, why not?" 

"Because we have to keep our minds focused on the fight. You're no good to work with if your brain is glued on me. I need you focused, Cyndi." Piccolo closed his eyes and let his breath out. It didn't stink this time so he must have gotten himself something to drink. "Besides, I need some time to think." 

There's something I understand all too well. I like to be alone when I want to think, too. "Okay, no problem. I'll go see Freeza when I get done."   
  


Therma-Silk shampoo works miracles on my hair. I never thought I'd wash all that blood out, yet two applications of the strawberry-scented liquid removed even the toughest clumps. Add some cream rinse to the mix and you'd never know about the huge mess I went through. 

I just wish a shower could wash the horrible images from my mind. 

The mirror was all steamy when I climbed out. I wiped my hand around the cool glass until I created circle large enough to let me see my reflection. Next to it I wrote 'I love Piccolo!'. Below that I drew a happy Anime face with the half-circle eyes and a straight line for a mouth. 

Cute. 

I slopped on some deodorant and put on the only clean clothes I had left - my sky-blue tube top and jean shorts. I like my tube top(my dad hates it!) because it hugs my upper body, and people can tell I actually have breasts. I always say I'm not self-conscious about my chest anymore, but deep down I still am. 

"Argh, stop it before you knock yourself down again." I growled at my reflection. Faint bruises shaped like Vegeta's fingers marred my neck. I wrapped the length of my hair in a towel and squeezed out the extra water. 

Wait, why deal with a towel? I tossed the annoying thing aside and blasted some energy out the back of my head. My hair frizzed wildly up and fell back down my back - DRY! A quick run with the brush replaced some semblance of order. Untamed, but tangle-free. I still think I look like Yajirobe's long-lost sister. 

I finished up by applying a little makeup on my eyes and cheeks, opting for a tinted lip-gloss instead of lipstick. Gave myself a quick once-over in the mirror. Or what little I could see with the steam coming back. 

"You're soooo vaaainnnn..." I sang, "You probably think this song is about youuu. Don't you, don't you? Uh..." Then I forgot the rest of the words. Oh well, I'm not Carly Simon. 

A blast of cooler air greeted me when I threw the bathroom door open. I walked barefoot down the hall, carrying my shampoo and conditioner in a plastic bag. My long hair swished against the bare skin on the backs of my knees. I have the funny habit of walking on tip-toe when I'm barefoot on an unfamiliar floor. I don't move like I'm wearing invisible high-heels, but my heels don't quite touch the ground either. Must be some unconscious attempt at being taller - or just my usual weirdness. Can't decide which. 

After depositing the baggie in my backpack and popping it into a Capsule, I padded down the tile hallway in search of Freeza. He wasn't in the bloody room - I forced myself to check. The nurse that put the clamp in Freeza's neck recognized me when I re-entered the hall. 

"Down the hall, to the left, he's in the first room you'll see." She told me. 

"Thanks." 

Locating the right doorway took little time. I approached and peeked timidly inside. 

The room was dim, lit only by fading sunlight peeking around the tightly-shut vertical blinds, and everything smelled like a doctor's office. It resembled the room Vegeta used when he blew up the gravity room all those years ago. 

Freeza rested comfortably in a bed set up under the window. His color was coming back, no more ashen gray to mess up his perfect complexion. Reflections from his purple cranium created funky patterns on the wall behind his head. He had some IVs in his left arm, an oxygen mask over half his face and a piece of square gauze taped to his neck. His dream catcher dangled off a hook on the IV stand. It was all purple with a single row of white feathers hanging off the bottom and two clear beads in the middle. 

He appeared asleep. I didn't want to bother him, so I turned to leave. 

"'ey." 

I glanced back. Freeza's ruby eyes were open and looking at me. 

"I thought you were asleep. I didn't want to bother you." 

The Icejin offered me a half-smile and patted the mattress a few times, his scratchy voice muffled by the plastic mask. "I was just restin' my eyes, 'luv. C'mon back in 'ere and keep me company." 

_Poor guy,_ I thought silently. I approached the soft bed, turned the bedside chair around and sat down with my legs on either side. Resting my arms across the back, I put my chin down. "How do you feel now? You were in a bad way back there. And..." My fingers gripped the wooden chair-backing, "I'm sorry I didn't help you when Void grabbed you. I could have, but I doubted myself. It made me hesitate too long. I mean...it almost got you killed!" 

Freeza wiggled around until he was facing me more fully. His breath fogged the mask, "Don't get all clucky over it. If you went after Void and 'ad a blue, both of us would be layin' 'ere instead of just me." 

"I know what Void is doing." 

"Ay?" 

Boiling heat turned my stomach over. I forced calmness into my voice, "She's attacking the people I care about. That bothers me more than physical punishment and she knows it. I just know Void will be using you guys to get to me when we go after her. I don't know if I can deal with it if - " 

A soft, cool hand with cream-smooth skin settled down over mine. "If it ever comes to a choice between us and the dreams of everyone else...choose everyone else. Piccolo would understand. Per'aps Vegeta would too, now that 'e 'as a family of 'is own." Freeza flashed a sideways smirk, "Though I do sometimes wonder 'ow they put up with that bloke." 

"He's a good dad. His oversized ego just makes him act like an asshole." 

"Is that so?" Came a harsh voice from the doorway. 

I twisted around and peered over my shoulder. There stood Vegeta with his arms crossed, leaning on the door frame. He was all sweaty and wearing nothing more than a pair of dark gray track-pants. A mild smirk quirked his thin mouth upwards. He narrowed his dark eyes at me. 

Why is it that every time I start to like Vegeta as a person, he turns around and pisses me off? 

"Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation?" I spat vehemently. 

Vegeta sneered. "I live here, I have every right to do as I please." 

That nearly set my temper off. But the threat Vegeta gave me earlier set off little warning bells in my mind. I forced myself to stay calm and turned away from the Saiyajin Prince. "You are such an asshole." 

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, twig-girl." 

"Bite me!" 

Freeza cut in over the argument, "'luv, settle down, 'e's just givin' you the razz in a bad way." 

"I know." I stood up and faced Vegeta fully. He was about my mom's height, five-foot-three or so, but his impressive hair made him seem a foot taller. For some reason he reminded me of those troll dolls you make wishes on - however I don't think Vegeta would appreciate someone rubbing his hair. "Vegeta, why are you always such a jerk to me? You treat everybody like dirt, but you seem to do it most to me. I can understand your reasons for not liking Freeza, but I'd like to know why I get it too. So...why?" 

Vegeta's thick eyebrows went up slightly. "Why do you ask such stupid questions?" 

Ooh! I wanted to slap him! "Just humor me, okay? Think you can do that?" 

The bed rustled behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Freeza putting a pillow over his head. Poor guy didn't want to listen to it. I jerked my head towards the corridor and stepped through the doorway. Vegeta followed, thankfully, his eyebrows cocked up in an almost pleasant expression. 

I stopped at the junction in the hallway and leaned on the wall. "Now...I want my answer." 

He snickered loudly. His eyebrows regained their usual arrogant tilt. "Because you're easy to push around. If you can't take it from me, what makes you think you can beat Void? Seems to me that all you do is slow us down." 

Vegeta's words ignited more flames in my stomach. My tail bristled. I seethed inwardly, yet somehow I maintained enough self-control to walk away without another comment. Not an easy thing for me to do - I always, always, ALWAYS have to get the last word in an argument. Otherwise I wind up feeling like I lost. And I hate losing. 

The cool tile under my bare feet gave way to wood panels. I stepped into the living room where Piccolo was still meditating and punched the first pillow I got my hands on. Then I sat down on the couch with my head in my hands, breathing deeply. Trying to swallow an emotion I can never fully control. 

"Slow us down...yeah right. Eat my shit," I muttered sourly. There I was, acting immature again. I hate myself when I get that way! 

"Need to talk about it?" Piccolo's low, suddenly close voice created a chord in the silence. He was sitting in the lotus position near the couch like a green Buddha statue. Grr, he's so sneaky, I didn't notice him moving until he was right there. 

I felt too ashamed of myself to look Piccolo in the eye. "Vegeta's being an asshole, that's all." 

"What did you say to him this time?" 

"Why do I always get blamed for starting it all the time?" I snapped my head up. 

Piccolo didn't show any outward reaction towards the outburst. He leaned forward, "Then what did he say to get you all riled up?" 

The couch became oddly uncomfortable under my butt. Some shifting around provided relief. "It doesn't matter, it's over now." 

"You let him get to you too much. Don't get all riled up over him, he's just trying to push your buttons. We've all dealt with him." The Namek heaved a sigh through parted lips, "Vegeta always did enjoy pushing people weaker than him around. Personally, I think he does it to feed his ego." 

"He was eavesdropping! That's just...rude!" 

Piccolo had no comment for that. He looked away and closed his eyes, indicating a change of subject. "So how is Freeza doing now?" 

"All right, I guess." I grumbled, crossing my arms. "He'll be okay in a day or two, I think. Dunno how long it'll take his body to replenish the blood it lost. I heard someone say it looked like he lost two pints and that it was a miracle he survived." 

"That settles it." Piccolo's dark eyes became intense, "As soon as he's well again, we're going after Void. We can't afford to wait any longer." 

"Right." 

The green man's eyes wandered from my face to my neck. He caught my chin between thumb and forefinger and forced my head to turn. "When did this happen?" 

I growled, "Last night. Let's just say Vegeta promised I wouldn't be walking away if I humiliated him again. Since I don't want to die anytime soon..." 

Piccolo's lips curled into a faint sneer that wrinkled his nose. "He won't like it if _I_ ever catch him with his hands on you..." 

"Piccolo, don't." I drew back, forced myself to calm down and sighed. Getting out of there sounded like a good idea. "I think I'm going to go out and fly for awhile. Do some exploring. I'll just look for your ki signal to find my way back. Think you'll be okay without me for a little while, big guy?" 

The corner of Piccolo's mouth curled upwards. He looked pretty evil with the sneer still wrinkling his nose. "I'll live." 

"Good." I gave him a peck on the cheek, "Be back soon." With that, I padded to the door and leapt out, my energy catapulting me towards the foggy night sky.   
  


The cool night air felt wonderful against my bare neck and shoulders. It almost felt like I wasn't wearing a shirt at all...I guess I don't wear my tube top often enough. I still wasn't quite accustomed to having the wind in my eyes or my hair being thrown so violently about. How did the guys fly so fast without their eyeballs drying out? 

City lights stretched out in the distance below me. I observed them without looking straight down. Mostly the lights were white and yellow, but I also saw blues, reds and greens too. The view reminded me of the time I went to Las Vegas and stood up on top of the Stratosphere. Everywhere I looked, I saw lights. Mostly in gold, but it was so beautiful. Now I observed something similar, only this time _nothing_ stood between me, the Earth and the air. I was...free. 

"Yahahaha!" I let myself freefall, only to power up at the last second and swoop back up. My heart pounded. I was shaking all over. What a rush! 

I wanted to find out how fast I could really go. I'd finally convinced myself that falling wouldn't kill me. Piccolo always did say my own doubts were the only things holding me back. 

_Then let's stop doubting right now. Just for a minute. I can do this..._

The ki inside me bubbled. My whole body tightened with the effort. I felt myself accelerating like an airplane preparing for take-off. Strong winds roared through my ears and chilled my skin. I was displacing so much energy that clouds evaporated when I blasted through them! I must've been going as fast as a fighter jet! 

And when I looked over my shoulder, I noticed I was leaving a distinct contrail. Just like the guys. Now I really did fit in! 

"WOOHOO! Now I'm REALLY moving! WAHAHAHA!!!" 

I cleared the city in less than three minutes, that's how fast I flew. The glittering lights gave way to blackness both above and below. Clouds obscured the stars from view, but I had just enough night vision to realize I'd flown out to Piccolo's valley. I can recognize the shapes of those cliffs anywhere. 

A damp chill settled into the air. Everything will be covered in dew by morning. That made me smile as I imagined everything glittering like the city lights I just left behind. 

All the flying left me a little tired. I spilled energy and....oh boy...came in for a pretty rough landing. Woops, forgot to stand upright before I dropped. At least I didn't slide this time. I stood up again, dusted off and looked around. Yep, it was already a bit dewy out. Had someone parked their car here, the windows would've been all fogged up with condensation. 

The dusty air smelled exactly like Piccolo's clothes, but stronger. My nose told me where the dinosaurs were hanging out. I took a huge sniff. Flowers were blooming somewhere close. I followed the scent out of curiosity. Just what kind of blossoms awaited my discovery? 

I searched and searched, and searched some more. Couldn't find the darn flowers. Well shoot, what good is a strong sense of smell if I can't use it to locate a friggin' flower patch? 

I looked up at the sky in exasperation. The clouds were thinning out. A faint glow came through them. Blurry at first, then clearer. 

The light I saw was the moon. A very huge and full moon. 

My tail went rigid. I should've realized what was going on. Even if I did, it was too late to stop the chain reaction going on inside me. 

As I stared at the white orb in the sky, I felt my insides and skin starting to pulsate. Slow at first, then faster. I grew larger with each pulse. My clothes shredded and fell off. I stiffened as if a thousand volts just passed down my spine. This should've hurt, yet didn't. The same feeling you get when you're having a numb tooth drilled. 

Brown fur sprouted over my erupting muscles. Pointed fangs like Piccolo's poked against my tongue. My jaw elongated. The cliffs no longer towered over me. I saw everything in crystal clarity. 

And the power! Raw and untapped, it surged up and outwards. Something deep within me snapped. Logic disappeared. I was changing...becoming stronger. Self-awareness and emotional control vanished. The anger I kept inside manifested itself in my mind. I knew nothing but rage. It made me feel powerful. This must be how Bruce Banner felt when he turned into the Hulk! 

I let loose with an earth-shattering roar. Blasted the cliff directly in my path. It crumbled to dust at my feet. My fist smashed a boulder off to the left. I burped up a white heat ray that dug a huge trench in the rocky ground. Within a matter of minutes I became a whirlwind of destruction that leveled everything around me. 

I'd lost all control...and I _liked_ it... 

I was reborn! 

Piccolo...had to show my new form to...handsome green person...he was somewhere in those twinkling things. He was...I was... 

Who was I? 

My fist destroyed another rock formation, giving me a perfect view of the city. I shrieked at the moon, beat my furry chest with two massive fists and ambled straight for the glittery lights far in the distance. 


	17. Part Sixteen

Self-Insertion, violence, nudity and language warning. Can you tell I recently saw the Hulk? It's a good movie that gave me some ideas! You saw the biggest one with the transformation in the last chapter. See if you can spot the other ones in the beginning of this chappy. XD They're very obvious if you've seen the movie. I know this was a fast update...this chapter wrote itself! Honest! I think my muses did it on purpose so I'd make up for being late last time :P   


  
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Sixteen

  
  
  
  
  
  


Trees older than civilization snapped between my immense toes. Scents...scents all around! No! I rule here! My territory! Not theirs! I bellowed at the sky. A warning to anyone nearby that this was MY land now. I mouth-blasted anything that blocked my view of the lights. Nothing stood in my way. Nothing dared cross me. Nothing held me back. 

I stopped to scratch myself in a few unmentionable places. What was I doing again? Oh yeah, seeking out the Green One. But walking took too long! I needed speed. 

So I jumped. 

Flailing around in mid-air, I crashed noisily down to earth again almost half a mile from my starting point. The entire forest shook beneath me. Frightened animals ran for their lives. To me, they were a swarm of ants pouring from a hole after someone dumped water in it. 

The lights were closer! I didn't care that I just smashed some poor guy's barn - I leapt again! All I wanted were the lights and the Green One. 

My next leap landed me smack in a lake. Water splashed everywhere, then gradually settled down. I spotted my reflection in the clear liquid. I saw a large figure with a snout, brown fur, red eyes and a tuft of slightly longer fur that stuck up and hung slightly sideways like Kaioshin's hair. The image meant nothing. I lowered my snout and lapped up a few mouthfuls of cool water. 

With my thirst quenched, I took another flying leap and landed on a cliff just outside the city. I surveyed the twinkling lights stretching out below. Sniffed. Grunted. Measured the distance. One more jump and I'll be right in the middle of them! 

This must be how Godzilla feels just before plowing through Tokyo. 

Something was coming. Invaders? No! MY TERRITORY! 

I saw two dots far in the distance. Dots that grew bigger as they came closer. They made noises. My powerful ears picked them up even though they were still a long way off. 

A deep, scratchy voice spoke first, "I knew wishing the moon back was a bad idea!" 

Another voice, harsher, "Blame the Woman! She did it, not me! It wasn't like we were expecting another Saiyajin with a tail to show up here! Idiots!" 

I narrowed my eyes on them. They were like large flies to me. One had black fur on his head. His scent was familiar... 

Rage! The Fuzzy One made me mad before! He entered my reach. I swung at the little thing with a massive fist. He disappeared! Where?! On the left! Grab again! Gone! Reach! Swat! Nothing! 

ARGH! 

"**_ROOOOOAAAAAAAWWWWRRRRRR!!_**" 

"Vegeta, getting her angry is NOT a good idea!" Shouted the scratchy voice. 

"Oh and she isn't now?!" 

Their vocalizations made no sense, but the sounds were familiar. My nostrils flared. I knew them...their scents... The Green One was there! I got excited. Showed him I was happy to see him by jumping up and down. 

Unfortunately, the cliff didn't handle my weight. It caved in, flipping me face-first into solid rocks. Grr, that ticked me off again. I made the rocks pay by belching another heat beam. Smoke from the explosion blinded me. I started swatting aimlessly. Dirt, rocks, trees and dust went flying. 

The Fuzzy One buzzed past me. "Dammit, I can't get a clear shot!" 

"Let the smoke clear." The Green One came closer. "Cyndi, can you understand me at all?" 

"**_ROOAAAAWRRR!!_**" 

"She can't understand you! She isn't in control! She'll attack ANYTHING that infuriates her!" 

He was right above my head! 

I slapped the Fuzzy One away. He annoyed me. Like a gnat, he came right back and threw a blast in my face. It tickled. I sneezed and shook my head. The smoke was clearing, I could see better. 

The Green One was floating in front of me with his legs together and his arms crossed. White material billowed from his back. His smell made me happy. I forgot about the Fuzzy One and reached up to clasp the Green One between my hands like a butterfly. Did he disappear? Can't tell...I brought my hands closer and cracked them open. No, he was sitting right there on my palms. I stomped in delight. Stuck the tip of my tongue out and licked the side of his head, making his turban fall off. He didn't seem to like that too much. I watched him put the turban back on, making a face as my spit dripped off in strings. 

"Okay Vegeta...she recognizes me. I'll keep her attention. Get her tail." 

Tail? I had a tail? Yes, yes I did! I wiggled it happily and watched the Green One stand up. He didn't try to get away. 

Wait, where did the Fuzzy One go? He wasn't... I snorted and growled. He was behind me. Trying to sneak up without me knowing! No! 

"**_Grrr...ROOAAAWR!_**" 

I jumped straight up. A huge energy blast passed under my feet. The Green One made a hasty escape from my grasp, but I didn't care. I thrashed angrily. Something hit my fist and a moment later I spotted the Fuzzy One laying on the ground. Good, time to squash him! 

Movement! The Green One snatched my target right from under my foot! 

"**_ROOAAAWRR!! ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAWWWRR!!_**" I snarled through slavering jaws and beat my chest to show I was the superior one. 

"Cyndi, over this way! C'mon...I'm up here," the Green One's calm voice called to me. He was hovering above what remained of the cliff, outlined by silvery moonlight. I reached for him, but he floated away. Always escaping! I didn't want to crush him, though, so I had to be gentle when I caught him. I climbed clumsily up onto the rocks and scrambled after him. 

"Yeah, that's it...keep coming to me." The Green One led me away from the city, but I didn't care anymore. He didn't let me catch him again until the lights were out of sight. I gently enclosed him up to his shoulders so he wouldn't get away. It was like holding a living version of my Piccolo action figure, such was the scale in size. 

To think I had the power to destroy him with one quick squeeze. Just a twitch, and he'd be slumped over with his innards dangling from his mouth. And I almost did it. My fingers closed further until I felt his heart beating wildly against my right thumb. The Green One's eyes opened wide. He struggled, wrenching himself from side to side and kicking his feet against my fingers. 

_You're hurting me!_

The voice in my head stopped me. Hurt. I understood that word! It's what I wanted to make the Fuzzy One feel! 

Oh no, the Green One! He's the person in my hands, not the Fuzzy One! I don't want him to hurt! I loosened my grip until I felt his chest rise and fall again. The Green One stopped squirming. He gasped several times. 

"NOW, VEGETA!!" 

And then...bright light. Searing pain! Burning needles piercing up my spine and down my legs! I spotted the Fuzzy One! My tail on the ground! Noooo!! 

"**_RRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!_**" I kicked the Fuzzy One as hard as I could. He smashed point-blank into what remained of the cliff. The rocks exploded, blocking my view of him. 

Then I felt like someone pulled the plug in the drain containing my energy. All the power inside me dwindled, taking me with it. My hands shrank around The Green One, but I still held onto him. His weight was no longer insubstantial. The brown fur covering my skin thinned out and disappeared. My face returned to normal. The tuft on top of my head remained the same size, becoming it's proper, messy knee-length in comparison with the rest of me. 

Self-awareness returned. True to what I've heard Saiyajins say on TV, it was like waking up from a dream. 

Okay, what happened? One second ago I was looking at a huge, full moon. Now I was naked, cold and clinging to the front of Piccolo's gi. 

And I was tired...so...tired. 

Piccolo's strong arms caught me when my knees gave out. He quickly wrapped both edges of his cape around my naked form, pulling me tight against him. "It's okay, kid. I've got you." 

I shuddered involuntarily. Some of his clothing was brushing against parts of me I usually keep covered. But I was too tired to acknowledge the sensations with anything beyond a sleepy smile. 

Vegeta stepped out of the shadows, sporting a few bruises and a cut above his eye that bled like a stuck pig. He was filthy, breathing hard and clutching his shoulder. Aside from that, he didn't look _too_ bad. "Hmph! Foolish girl, you should know better than to look at the moon when you have a tail!" 

"Lay off, Vegeta. It's over now. Let me handle the rest." 

The Saiyajin Prince turned away. His power level rose. A blue-white aura appeared around his short frame and he clenched his fist, looking over his shoulder at us. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when her tail grows back and she destroys a city. Why do I even waste my time with you?" With that, he blasted off into the sky and shot off into the distance. Settling dust was the only hint he once stood there. 

"I was an Oozaru..." I said in awe. I touched Piccolo's cheek and grimaced at the slime still present. "Did I slobber on you?" 

"Feh. Better to deal with spit than a decimated city." Piccolo made a face. He used a small ki wave to dry himself off. All the blood marring his clothes was gone. He must've cleaned up right after I left. "Do you remember anything?" 

"I..." Everything was a haze. Just bits and pieces of the experience remained. "I wanted the lights. I knew you were there and I wanted to find you. Does remembering what I wanted to do count as a memory?" 

That got a soft rumble of a chuckle from Piccolo. I love that little laugh of his. "I suppose so. Let's just say you turned a few cliffs into pebbles and trampled over several acres of forest. Who knows what else you destroyed. But no human lives were lost." 

"Mm...good." I looked up with one eye half-shut. "You know...I've always wondered this...doesn't your turban make your antennae ache after a while? I mean, it's weighted and all." 

"Nah," The handsome Namek wrinkled his nose, but looked amused at my question. "Keeps them out of my face. The weight isn't on my forehead anyhow." 

That answers that question. 

Piccolo scooted me back and pushed me to sit down on a nearby rock. It was cold and damp against my butt. I didn't try to cover up or feel at all embarrassed about being naked in front of him. In fact, it was kind of erotic. Piccolo stepped back, stared in thought and pointed at me. Warm golden light bathed my thin body. A second later I wore the same clothes I did before I turned into an Oozaru. 

"Think you can fly?" 

"I dunno." I stood up. 

And collapsed. 

My God, I've never been this drained before! 

"Heh, guess not." Gentle hands scooped me off the dirt. Piccolo's comforting warmth returned. He whipped most of his cape around and wrapped the soft material around me like a blanket. 

I couldn't tell if I was smelling his clothes or the dust around us. So I buried my face in his neck and inhaled deeply. "All things considered, that was pretty cool. I kind of wondered how it felt to go Oozaru." 

"Hmph." 

Cool air tingled in my nose. Piccolo gracefully left the ground with me tucked safely in his arms. He said something else, but I was already so close to sleep that I only remember hearing his voice. In my dreams I saw this gorgeous image of a glowing, unclothed Piccolo with white wings. My sweet, perfect guardian angel.   
  


The Oozaru I'd been loomed above me in the darkness and disappeared. I saw the angelic version of Piccolo fly away. Then I was alone in utter blackness. The closest I'll ever get to true blindness. It was so dark I couldn't see my hands if I touched my nose and splayed my fingers. 

Something alerted my senses like electricity passing through my skull. A very bad, cruel feeling. 

Nervous, I turned my hand palm-up and ignited a ki ball. A move that saved my life. 

Had I taken one step, I would've walked into Void! She was _right there!_ Staring down at me with those hateful silver eyes. A teasing smile made her left eye squint. 

"A thousand more fell to me tonight." Her guttural voice cut me to the core. She held up her stinger-tipped tail. It glimmered in the dim light from my ki ball. I also noticed the small bit of carapace in her forehead had a faint, barely visible glow. Kind of like a turned-off TV screen in the dark after you shine a flashlight on it for a few seconds. I didn't like the look of it one bit. "A _thousand_ dreams...DEAD!" 

"And a _million_ more will come after you! You can't destroy the Believers!" I scowled, trying to sound tough. Honestly...I was terrified! Blood roared through my ears and behind my eyes. Knots twisted my stomach into a pretzel. The air seemed thinner than normal because I was breathing in shallow gasps. Looking at Void always has and always will make my blood run cold. She embodied everything I feared. 

Void only laughed. My gaze snapped to her hands when she crossed her arms. Not an attack, but still threatening. I remained on-guard and ready to move at a nano-second's notice. 

"The last one I drank from was quite a fighter. His body was weak, but his mind was strong. I think you know him. That priest with the leg braces. Heh, heh." 

Priest with... oh no! She got Father Jim! 

"What happened to him?!" 

"Oh, not much. He'll just lay there mindlessly until nature takes his life away. I believe the correct term for such a state is a vegetable." She sounded so proud of it. Proud of hurting people who can't fight back. It made me sick down to my bones. "But his thoughts and everything that made him a person..." She pointed to her head, "All right here. I can hear him screaming now, right with the rest of those I absorbed! It's music!" 

"Father Jim..." Rage consumed me like the Oozaru transformation. I snapped. My power boiled over and spilled forth. The white aura around me flared twice my height, shoving Void back a half-step. "YOU **_BITCH!! DIE!!_**" I launched myself at her midsection, screaming. 

Void flipped over and planted both feet in my back. I hit the ground chin-first with her weight pinning me down. But with better control of my ki than last time, I shoved her off. Rolled over and stood up. Assumed Piccolo's stance with my fingers curled like claws. 

The black monster charged. I jumped straight up and kicked her right in the face. Knocked her on her ass! 

"This is a cousin to the knuckle sandwich - I call it a toe burger!" 

Slowly, Void stood to her full height. She rubbed her chin where I kicked her. No blood or obvious damage. Those piercing, reflective eyes narrowed on me like a predator stalking prey. "Nice kick there, but you have no hope of beating me, Cyndi. I'm going to absorb everyone you love...and then I'll take you. You can't stop me. I think it's a fair trade for the humiliation you made me endure after our first fight so long ago." 

"If you think you're going to win against me and the Believers, then you have shit clogging your ears." 

"Cute." 

Void rushed me. I stupidly wasn't ready. She send me flying with a flick of her wrist. Her _wrist._

Someone else was coming. A ball of goldish light swooped from above and slammed into Void, sending her skidding across the ground. The glow evaporated to reveal....Vegeta?! Yes! There he was in Super Saiyajin form with his hair standing up like a fiery crown. 

"Get out. NOW!" 

"You can't take her alone!" 

"**_GO!_**" 

No time to protest. Vegeta's snarl turned into Piccolo's calm voice calling to me. It pulled me out against my will.   
  


I woke up crying hysterically. Piccolo was gripping my shoulders and shaking me pretty hard. His face was very fierce. "Cyndi, come on now, wake up! Are you with me? Talk to me, kid. What did she do?" 

Sitting up, I gasped. "S-She got Father Jim! Why did you take me out? Vegeta's in there with her! Let me go back! Void said herself that she's going after everyone I love! That means my parents, everybody I know at church and...and...you guys. Let me go! I gotta go back!" I struggled against Piccolo's grasp. Being pulled out infuriated me. I wanted to beat Void into submission before she could hurt anybody else. I wanted to delight in her pain. 

"No!" He shook me harder, gripping my face between his hands. "I sent Vegeta in as a diversion when I heard you start moving around. Losing your temper with Void will get you killed, Cyndi! You have to stay in control!" 

"LET GO!" 

"**_NO!_**" 

The sudden shout returned my senses. I focused fully on Piccolo's face and watched him close his eyes in relief. "Settle down, now." 

Angry tears spilled onto my face. "Other people are my biggest weakness, Piccolo. She's destroying everything I care about as revenge for the first fight!" I sniffled and tried desperately to control the waterworks. Crying wouldn't help anything, I had to be strong! "Promise me you won't let her get you, Piccolo. Promise!" 

Piccolo's smooth thumbs gently brushed the tears from my cheeks. Then he petted my hair, something he's been doing a lot lately, and looked me dead in the eyes. "I promise, kid. I promise." 

"Okay, good..." My brief panic finally disappeared to a tolerable level. I leaned forward and locked my arms around Piccolo's neck. My intention was to lean in slow, but I lost my balance and our mouths kind of ran into each other. 

Piccolo pulled back a little, "I think I'm getting used to this...kissing...thing you always do." 

"The trick is not to slobber in the other person's mouth." I spoke against his parted lips. "C'mon, I always start. You kiss me this time." 

"Mm, fine." He covered my eyes with one hand and pressed his mouth to mine until I thought I'd drown in the moment. His kiss pushed me down flat on my back, his full weight pinning me down. I can kiss Piccolo a million times, but it's never quite as special as when he kisses me first. It was a blissful eternity that lasted no more than thirty seconds. The hand covering my eyes made it feel almost mysterious. Like he didn't want me to see his brief bout of passion. 

With a quiet suddenness, the hand on my face and the weight pinning me down disappeared. I found Piccolo looming over the bed. Staring down at me with a pensive expression. I know that look all too well. 

My dad once said love is the ability to communicate without saying a word. I think I finally understand what he meant. 

I took Piccolo's large hand gently in mine. "Don't try to figure it out. It's too complicated," I said as if he'd actually spoken. Then I smiled at him. 

The corner of his mouth quirked upwards. His tone came out a little mocking, but in a friendly way. "Fine, I have more important things to worry about anyhow." 

I gave his tight rear end a swat, making him glare at me in shock. "Well, have fun meditating. I'm gonna go eat!" 

"I don't need to for a while. I DO spend time fully conscious, you know." Piccolo stepped aside while I climbed off the bed. He smartly kept his back - and ass - to the wall and out of my reach. "When you finish feeding your face, I think we should start making up for the time you were sick. Freeza's going to be down for the night and I want to use this time to improve." 

"It's always setbacks. Just when we're ready, something else happens! What next?" 

He just shook his head. 

Then my stomach growled loud enough to wake the dead. I felt my face turn bright red. "Uh...I think I'll go eat now." 

Piccolo nodded and let me pass. All of a sudden a hand came from nowhere and walloped me right in the butt! I shrieked, grabbed my behind and spun around to face a smirking Namek. 

"Revenge is a bitch, isn't it?" 

"Youuuuuu...!" I shook my finger at him, unable to make up a suitable name to call him. Don't you hate it when that happens?! 

Piccolo twitched like he was going to spank me again. Thinking I knew his intention, I screamed and scrambled out the door. Nobody was chasing me, but I did hear deep, muffled laughter coming from the room I just exited. 

"I'll get you, Piccolo! Just you wait!" More tummy whining. "Er...just as soon as I've stuffed myself." 


	18. Part Seventeen

Self-Insertion, violence, nudity and language warning.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Seventeen

  
  
  
  
  


I ate the dirt at Piccolo's feet for the millionth time. The impact sent a dust plume rising around me. Staying down would've been the logical thing to do. But I didn't feel like listening to logic. I wanted to be stronger, faster and better than I'd ever been before! If I got just a little stronger, I'd stand a chance against Void! 

Yet every time Piccolo told me I was stronger, I didn't feel strong enough. Like an anorexic obsessed with being thin, I became obsessed with getting stronger. Maybe it's the same instinct that pushes Vegeta to train until he nearly kills himself. Either way, I kept screaming at Piccolo to come at me harder, faster and meaner. Hoping that somehow all the beatings would awaken a store of power from somewhere deep inside. I went after Piccolo so much that he chucked his cape and turban just to keep up with me. 

If he has to ditch his heavy gear for a fight, it's serious. Wow, I must be improving! 

"Enough." Piccolo stated calmly when a surprise mouth-blast knocked me into the grass. "We've been at this for almost six hours now. You can't go on like this, Cyndi." 

I slammed my dirty fists down in the grass. "No! It's not enough! FIGHT ME!" 

The Namek growled and lifted me by the back of my shirt. He sported several bruises of his own, thanks to me. "You have to rest _some of the time_ if you want to get stronger. Give your energy time to come back up." 

"Well I'm not ready to rest yet, dammit! If getting beat up makes me stronger, do it!" 

Piccolo narrowed his dark eyes and pulled me up higher. He spun around, flinging me sideways into Vegeta's gravity room. CLANG! The cold metal felt like a giant fist slamming into my back. Amazing how it didn't explode or tip over, I guess my low body-weight makes a smaller impact. 

"Now let's see if you can get up." He crossed his arms, spat on the ground and waited. 

I was underwater. Not really, but it sure felt like it. My sluggish body weighed a ton. I tasted a coppery substance on the back of my tongue. Blood mixed with sweat and tears. My aching muscles trembled. Laying there would've been so easy...but I can't quit. Not when I know Void is intentionally seeking out and hurting people I care about. 

Despite my body's protests, I forced my hands flat. Pushed up with my arms. Then my legs. Piccolo gave me a you-lost-your-mind! look. He probably wondered where I kept getting it from. I wasn't sure myself. Normally I'd just keel over and be done with it. All I could think about was becoming more powerful. 

My knees wobbled. I had enough for one more round. 

"Get ready." 

I charged full-speed at Piccolo's midsection. Piccolo widened his stance instantly. I was so exhausted that when I punched him, it was barely a tap. Might as well hit him with a wet noodle for all the difference it made. 

I didn't give up. My poor body did. I flopped down against Piccolo's long legs, clutching his ankles. Tears of frustration poured down my cheeks. "Dammit...not enough!" 

Piccolo's toes flexed inside his brown shoes. He slid down into a sitting position and helped me seat myself against an outer edge of the gravity room. "You've had enough. If you're not going to set limits on yourself, then I will. Settle down. We'll get Void, don't you worry. But you can't beat her if your mind and body are exhausted." 

There was a soft popping noise. I rolled my eyes towards Piccolo and saw him sipping from his brown flask. He only swallowed twice. I counted the movements of his Adam's apple to be sure. Then he offered it to me. My fingers brushed his as I accepted and drank furiously. Piccolo didn't complain. Not even when I drank every last drop in the wooden, pear-shaped canteen. It held two pints of water and I just chugged it down like nothing. 

"Sorry, got a little thirsty," I mumbled, handing the flask back to its owner. 

"Bah. Don't worry about it. I can always get more later." Piccolo turned his head towards the eastern horizon, which showed faint shades of purple and pale blue. His neck seemed long and graceful now that his cape wasn't there to obscure it from view. "Sun's coming up." 

Something about how the brightening sky outlined him reminded me of how I saw him in my dream. The sun appeared to rise right under his chin. 

Piccolo's salty, sweaty scent drove me crazy. Maybe it just excites me because I'm attracted to him. I leaned closer and inhaled deeply. Smelling wasn't enough. I climbed to my knees, clutched his shoulder and kissed his taut-skinned neck. Tasting of his green Namekian flesh. 

He grunted and gave me a sharp look. Probably wondering why I go after him when I know it doesn't affect him. The thing is - it didn't matter. I nudged my face up between his cheek and shoulder and settled down in his lap. Piccolo rumbled wordlessly, but let me stay. He was easier to hug when he wasn't wearing his heavy gear. 

I slipped my fingers just inside his plunging gi neckline and rubbed his sculpted pecs. His sweat made them a little slick. Piccolo's chest muscles twitched under my fingertips. He caught my hand by the wrist. 

"That tickles," he said in his usual, terse way, his deep voice rumbling right into my ear. 

"I'd tickle you all over if I wasn't so tired." I replied. Looking back to the sunrise, I went on, "Geez, this reminds me of a lame fanfic I wrote ages ago. I think you read it right after we first met, while I was sleeping. _Where The Sun Rises_, remember it? God, what a Mary Sue." 

"I thought the girl's name was Agnes." 

"It was..." I giggled, "Mary Sue is the term people use for characters who are so perfect or so angsty that they, you know, become annoying. I guess everyone writes one sometime. But I also wrote that story before I really knew everything there is to know about you. Besides," I walked two fingers up his chest and flicked his pointed chin lightly, "There's still so much to learn. You're a funny guy, Piccolo. Just when I think I've seen it all, you reveal more." 

"Hm." 

"But I like it that way." 

Piccolo didn't answer me. I noticed his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. His heartbeat maintained a gentle cadence. I picked my head up and discovered he was fast asleep. He had his head back against the metal wall, his handsome, slightly-smiling face completely relaxed. Aw, I guess he was as drained as I am. 

I could've easily stayed there and gone to sleep too. But rest wasn't on my agenda. 

My eyes landed right on the gravity room. Nobody would mind if I used it for a little while, would they? Vegeta wasn't up yet and Piccolo just clocked out for the next hour or so. 

Every inch of me was sore. Even my hair and toenails. Hell, even my medic-alert bracelet hurt! 

Determination toughened me up. 

I forced myself to climb from Piccolo's lap. Giving him a quick, light kiss on the forehead, I tip-toed around to the door of the gravity room. It can't be too complicated, I've seen Vegeta work it on TV. 

One thing a television screen doesn't show is the size of this thing. Vegeta's gravity room is as tall as a two-story house and big enough around to block the side-street in front of my house. Inside...well...someone could easily live in there and throw a small party without worrying about space. 

Very little light came inside, save for that which came through the windows and the open door. My heart squeezed in on itself. No telling what Vegeta might do if he caught me in here. The desire for more power overrode my fear. I heaved myself inside, pulling the door quietly shut behind me. There went most of the light, but my eyes adjusted quickly to the dimness. No turning back now. 

The control panel was just as I remembered it. I pressed the red button and a digital number one appeared. Normal gravity. Okay, good. I turned it up to ten and felt the same heaviness Piccolo and I experienced in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. 

Ten times normal gravity wasn't enough. I wanted a workout. 

So I stupidly turned it up to one-hundred. Thinking I'd just start high and work my way up. 

Fat chance. 

Suddenly I felt like I was riding a Gravitron from Hell at the fair. The hard metal floor introduced itself to my forehead in the rudest way possible. Owww, that hurt! Dammit! If Vegeta can do three-hundred times normal gravity then surely I can manage a measly one-hundred! I was a Saiyajin! 

God only knows how long I lay pinned under the invisible weight. Letting my body-systems adjust. I was comfortable as long as I didn't move. 

I laid my palms flat and forced my arms straight. Then I curled my knees under my stomach, pushing myself up onto my hands and knees. My thin limbs quivered with the effort. I clenched my teeth. Brought my knees further forward so my feet touched down. Burning muscles tormented each movement. I ignored them and forced my legs to move again. Inch by trembling inch, I straightened until I was standing upright. I could feel the floor trying to suck my knees out from under me. 

I was standing in one-hundred times normal gravity! 

Believers, feel free to laugh at me if you want. I walked just like chibi Trunks before he surprised Vegeta by going Super Saiyajin. Even did several laps around the gravity machine. How long would it take me to get used to this gravity? RIGHT NOW would be nice. 

Half an hour was spent just walking. Exhaustion didn't even begin to describe how I felt. My muscles went numb, I didn't feel the burn anymore. It actually felt good after a while. One thing I didn't consider though...the strong gravity pulled the blood away from my head just like a centrifuge. I was probably feeling the effects of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. 

I stopped counting my laps after one-hundred. Somewhere in there, the slow walk became more of a power-walk. I was sweating profusely, dizzy and gasping. But I felt GREAT! Maybe that came from the endorphins too. 

My peripheral vision disappeared. I saw everything like I was looking through binoculars without the magnification. It made me laugh stupidly and keep on moving. I felt sick to my stomach. My eyesight shrank more, now I was looking down an empty toilet paper tube. More walking, giggling and huffing, too out of it to be frightened. Pretty soon I saw only a pinprick. I was outside myself, watching my body stagger. 

And then I hit the floor. Darkness rushed up and carried me away. 

Somewhere in the distance I saw a golden ball of light. I heard an Oozaru roar and sensed the power transforming into it unleashed. It was so _close_, yet I couldn't reach it! Void's shadowy face loomed above it all, her silver eyes gleaming eerily. 

Laying supine on the floor allowed the blood to rush back to my head. In a few moments I saw clearly again. The pain in my muscles made itself horribly apparent. I knew the burn meant I was getting the workout I needed. If I managed another hundred laps, I'd be ready to try something more drastic. 

All at once, daylight flooded the gravity room. "What in the - this is MY gravity room! Get out of here!" 

Ah, shit! Busted! 

Heavy footsteps swept past me and approached the gravity machine. The intense force pressing down on me slowly disappeared. More footsteps. This time Vegeta's white boots planted themselves right in front of my face. 

I mumbled, "Just a few more minutes, I don't wanna go to school..." 

"Get up!" Vegeta kicked me square in the forehead. I flew backwards and smashed into the opposite wall. A move that finally shook away the grogginess. 

"Oww!" I rubbed the throbbing spot on my forehead, "Why'd you have to go do that?!" 

The Saiyajin Prince looked at me like a piece of dung he'd scrape off his boot. Years of living on Earth and being a father still didn't quell the malice in his stony gaze. "This is MY gravity room. Nobody uses it without my permission. And you certainly don't have it." He pointed to the open door, "Now get out!" 

A third party joined the ruckus. "What is going on here?!" 

"Let me handle this, Piccolo!" 

Vegeta fumed, "For the last time...GET OUT! Both of you!" 

I tightened my belly muscles and screamed, "**_ENOUGH!!_**" With that shout came a blue-white aura of gigantic proportions. It just blasted out of me and spanned the entire room, blowing Piccolo back out the door and Vegeta into the wall behind him. My hair blew straight up and my clothes rustled. Gold flecks raced through the energy swirling around me. I struggled to hang onto it, but I was too tired. 

The aura evaporated back into my being. I'd almost touched the power I saw in my half-conscious state earlier. So freaking close! 

"Oh...damn." I stared at my hands. "I think I need to take my medicine right about now, before I get too hyper. Uh..." 

That's the last thing I remember before I passed out from exhaustion.   
  


Vegeta's harsh voice reached me from far off. "...and I found her laying on the floor with the machine up to one-hundred-fifty times normal gravity! It was about to go up again when I turned it off. There's not telling how long she'd been in there. Then she turns around, blasts us both with a huge show of power and passes out! Now where have YOU been all this time?" 

"Excuse me, your Highness! I got stuck doing a seminar in Gingertown. I thought I told you that!" Bulma snarled back, "Now what's this about consciousness?" 

I faded back out again.   
  


More voices again, this time hushed. 

"Oh, you're up," whispered Piccolo from very close by. Probably standing over the bed or leaning against the wall. 

Freeza's distinctive alto rasp answered him, "Yeah, my blood count's back up so I decided to get outta bed and get myself some grub. I'm not a 'undred percent yet, but I can't stand to sit on my arse in bed anymore either. I missed some action, didn't I? Bloody 'ell. Sleep for an arvo and an evo and you miss everythin'!" Then a crunch as he bit into an apple. Mm, my nose told me it was a sweet one. "Poor thin'. She probably drained all 'er power. Little battler." 

Piccolo let out his breath. "Doesn't surprise me. First she transforms at the full moon, then demands I train her until she can't stand up, and then Vegeta found her in the gravity room with the machine up on an insane setting. Her power is way higher than before, though, which doesn't surprise me too much." 

Tired of listening to them jabber about me, I moaned, "Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" 

"Gah! Well good arvo to you too!" Freeza clutched the apple with his mouth, hopped onto the foot of the bed and jiggled it to make sure I stayed awake. He was wearing the same shorts I first saw him in, but he'd put on a purple T-shirt with Ice, Ice, Baby written on the front. I found that funny. "Lollin' 'round in bed won't make you stronger, 'luv." He didn't stop bouncing the mattress until I sat up and grabbed the apple away from him. 

"I'm awake!" I took a bite, then handed it back. "Sometimes, Freeza, I swear you're like the annoying little brother I never had." 

Freeza stole his food back. He grinned toothily, "Cathy always says I'm an oversized ankle-biter." 

"You wouldn't know that with the way you were on Namek. All patient, calculating and quiet." 

"Don't forget, that wasn't really me." More crunching, "This is." 

I giggled and pointed at the Icejin, "You're lucky you're cute, or I wouldn't have liked you while you were evil. You were the only villain I actually sympathized with." 

"Oy!" Freeza's whole face darkened to an adorable purplish-pink hue. He flopped down on the mattress between me and the wall and demolished another chunk of his apple. 

Piccolo let out a HUGE snort from his spot by the wall. His shoulders trembled with silent laughter. I gave the green man an odd look, but he just shook his head as if to say 'nevermind'. I guess I'll have to wait until we're alone and ask him why he thought my comment was so funny. 

Reaching over to dig my knuckles playfully into Freeza's ribs, I asked, "So you guys sat here and waited for me to get up? How long was I out?" 

"I just got 'ere a few ticks ag-ACK!" He wiggled away, "But Piccolo probably didn't move once 'e planted 'is bum by the wall." 

"Figures." I glanced over at Piccolo's stoic expression. His cheeks were a little purple, but otherwise he seemed just as severe and serious as ever. 

"You slept for eight hours, kid. It's two in the afternoon." Piccolo commented flatly. I finally noticed he'd cleaned himself up and materialized a new cape and turban. 

An awkward silence settled. Well, it got quiet when Freeza finished off his apple and tossed the core into a trash bin by the door. None of us could think of a single thing to talk about. I struggled for something worth discussing. Nothing came to mind. Frustrating as hell, most people who don't know me well take this as a lack of interest and go find someone else to talk to. 

Finally, Piccolo pushed off from the wall. "Freeza, we'll wait one more day so your strength can return. Eat whatever foods that help you produce more blood cells. Rest and save your strength. The same goes for you," he looked pointedly at me, "Only light exercise, if any at all." 

Great, that put a damper on my day. I wanted to train _hard_. 

"Aw, come on!" 

He snarled at me, "No. We can't afford to wait any more!" 

That shut me up. Freeza remained pensively quiet with an arm draped over his eyes. He finally spoke up, "So 'ow are we gonna go after Void?" 

Piccolo's gaze shifted to the Icejin, "Vegeta is discussing our next course of action with Bulma. If all works out, her and a few medical professionals will artificially place us under anesthesia, getting us as close to death as possible without actually killing us, and monitor our conditions closely. It'll put us on the same wavelength as Void. Hopefully we'll get her before her power goes beyond what we can reach." 

"And if she does?" I cut in, "Then what?" 

"...I don't know." 

Freeza took his arm off his face and sat up. His clear, ruby-red eyes and doll-like face held the same fierceness I saw when Void made him evil. An eerie change. "We're all rooted, that's what." 

My stomach chose that moment to speak up. Everybody sweatdropped. 

Piccolo gave me a knowing smile, "Go eat. I'm not going anywhere." 

"Sure," I didn't smile back this time, apprehension about tomorrow wouldn't let me. "What time should we be ready tomorrow?" 

"Hm..." He held his chin between thumb and forefinger. Glancing up, he concluded, "Ten o'clock sharp sounds good to me, since you like to sleep late." 

"Okay, cool I - " 

Freeza's raspy voice cut me off, "Will you 'urry up? I'm still 'ungry too, ya know!" 

I stuck my tongue out at him. He pulled his lower lid down and stuck his tongue out right back at me. Piccolo just rolled his eyes at us. 

"Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you two..."   
  


Delicious scents of meat and macaroni wafted from the kitchen to my nose. I seated myself at a shady part of the table, avoiding the sunlight shining through the window. Whatever was cooking smelled delicious, it made my stomach whine even more than before. I could tell exactly which ingredients were being used - onions, flour, salt, beef, steak and others that I don't know the names of. I also identified the scents of pumpkin and pepper. 

Thing is...Mrs. Briefs wasn't cooking. 

Freeza finished mixing whatever he was putting together and left it to simmer. He placed a pie tin on the countertop near the stove, wiped his hands on a towel and glanced over my way, "Now we'll just let that sit for a tick. I promise it'll be the best meat pie you'll ever sink your ivories into." 

"I never had a meat pie before." I rested my chin on my fist and watched him stir the macaroni. Freeza cooking, I never imagined him doing such a thing! Once he figured out where everything was in the kitchen...there was no stopping him. 

"Ah, give it a go." 

I laughed, "I will, I'm hungry enough to eat a house." 

He grinned toothily, facing the stove again to check whatever was boiling in the biggest pot. A huge column of steam rose when he lifted the lid. More yummy scents. My stomach gurgled louder. 

"'ow 'bout I make you some sangers to take the edge off that? I can whip a few up in a jiffy. This meal is gonna take a bit and I know it's torture to your 'ungry tummy." 

This is what I love about having a Saiyajin appetite, the ability to eat and not stuff myself before the actual meal. Usually I skip or barely nibble on entrees because they ruin my fickle appetite. 

"Sure." 

Another smile pulled at Freeza's black lips, "What kinda salad dressin' do ya like?" 

"Thousand islands." 

He opened the fridge with his tail, grabbed the jar and tossed it over his shoulder, catching it in his left hand. Did it again for the cheese, then he shoved the door shut. 

'Sangers', it turned out, was an Aussie term for 'sandwiches'. Freeza pulled two slices of bread out and smeared the dressing on. He slapped a slice of cheese onto each and folded everything over into two half-sandwiches. Thousand islands dressing and cheese...never heard of that combination before. 

"Little Lexy loves these." Freeza came out and handed the sandwiches to me, "My own personal version of good ol' cheese sangers." 

They certainly smelled good. I bit into one. The tangy dressing and cheese tastes complimented each other very well! "Mmmm!" I stuffed the rest into my mouth. "You should patent this!" 

"Bah," huffed the Icejin, putting his hands on his hips. I still can't get over how tiny he is in his first form! The top of his head barely reached my chin and I'm five-foot-one! 

The sandwiches took the edge off my appetite. Or at least enough that I didn't feel like I was dying of hunger. I slurped the bits of dressing off my fingers and dug in my pocket for the Capsule containing my backpack(yes, Piccolo even brought that back!). "I'm gonna put some music on, I'm bored." 

"Whatcha' got?" 

"Uh..." I poofed my backpack into existence, dug around and produced my blue CD booklet. Flipping it open, I cycled through the few CDs I had with me, "Um...Heart, Stevie Nicks, Enya, Enigma, Richard Marx and Celine Dion." 

"Put Stevie on, 'luv. She's the only one in that list I actually like." 

Hm, Freeza and I didn't share many musical interests. At least he liked my favorite! "I'll put it on the stereo over there, better sound. My little discman speakers make it come out all tinny." 

Figuring out the stereo system was surprisingly easy. It was much like my mom's, just with more buttons and dials that I didn't dare touch. I pushed the button for CDs, dropped the disc in and hit PLAY. Then I fast-forwarded to track five, _Stand Back._ The familiar drum-beat and synthesizer sounds popped up in lifelike clarity. 

"This is one of the coolest songs of all time!" 

"Cher's pretty good too. Too bad she quit tourin', I woulda gone to see 'er." 

"Yeah." 

Freeza listened to the music a bit. He started tapping his toes with the beat. A mischievous gleam flickered through his red eyes, "Did you 'appen to learn 'ow to dance since we last met?" 

I felt my face heat up. "Uh...no." 

"Hm, this is the wron' music...ah what the 'ell. I learned a few steps Down Under." 

"Oh?" 

Freeza nodded his armored head, grinned and jumped clear over me. He did a flip and landed on his feet right in the open area in the spacious living room. "C'mon 'luv, don't be shy. Put on the track before this. _Talk To Me_ 'as the best beat for this." 

"Okay." I did what he said, making sure I messed with the dials just enough to create a delay before the actual music started. Joined him in the living room without a clue of what to expect. 

The Icejin stepped really close, took my right hand and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me up against his chest. He blushed a bit, smiled and chuckled, "Eh, I'm not tryin' to get fresh with you, honest! You gotta stand close to do this." 

His comment made me giggle, "No problem. I have an open mind. Besides, you're married." 

A corner of Freeza's delicate mouth curled upwards. Mischief still shone in his red eyes. "Now jus' follow me, 'kay? We're gonna go this way first...keep your steps light." 

Freeza started moving before I was completely ready. I looked down at our feet and followed his sideways steps. Thankfully I didn't step on his toes at all, even if I almost tripped myself once. I got the hang of it pretty quick. This was easy! "Hey Freeza, this isn't too hard!" 

"Heh, heh! 'kay, then give this a burl. Don't get dizzy!" 

"Huh?" 

His grin gave the only hint. Next thing I knew we were twirling each other around and around. Like a waltz, but faster. Call me a dunce, but I didn't have a clue what dance he was making me do. Freeza stopped our rapid motion and went back to walking again. A sharp turn, four twirls and more light steps. 

I got the hang of it enough that I didn't stumble. It turns out Freeza and I were following the rhythm of Stevie's singing, not the background music. Freeza pulled me a different direction every time a phrase ended. 

Twirl! Walk...step, twirl again! "Haha! I think I've got it!" 

"Now stop lookin' at your feet, 'luv!" 

Step! Turn! 

"Pfft!" 

Just when I was really getting on a roll, the song started winding down. Freeza went for the big finish by dipping me. I threw an arm up in the air just to be silly. He stood me up again, touched the back of his head and flashed a huge grin, "That was bonzer for a beginner." 

"Thanks!" My face grew hot again, "Uh, what dance did we just do?" 

"Oh..." Freeza hopped over and snatched a thornless red rose from the vase by the window. He clutched it in his teeth, did a few stomping steps, snapped his fingers and bowed gracefully. "Nothin' much. A bit of the Tango. Cathy's a dance teacher, she taught me a few moves." He stared dreamily into space, smiling, "She's won four competitions. I love watchin' her move, what a beaut. That pretty red braid swingin' 'round..." 

God, I knew that look all too well, I stare at Piccolo the same way. If love is a sickness, then lets hope it turns into a universal epidemic. 

Ding! 

Freeza dropped the rose and raced into the kitchen. "Crikey, it's 'bout done! I gotta 'urry before it burns! Grab a chair, 'ere comes yer grub!" 

The chair found my butt faster than you can blink. My briefly-forgotten hunger returned ten times worse. I actually eyed Freeza's tail and began to wonder what it tasted like! 

A few moments later I was staring down at a huge pastry that smelled like beef and steak with ketchup spread over the top. Next to it was orange pumpkin soup with some parsley floating on the surface. On the side I had a huge helping of macaroni and vegetables. All of which looked absolutely delicious. My mouth didn't water - it flooded. 

Freeza piled the pots and pans up in the dishwasher. "Meat pies are bloody good. Dig in!" 

Dig in is an understatement. I forced myself to eat slowly just so I could actually taste everything. Let me tell you, that juicy meat pie, the mild soup, even the macaroni and vegetables were all very tasty. I savored every bite, right down to the last crumbs left on my plate. Freeza waited nervously off to the side, clutching a towel hopefully while I ate. He sagged in relief when, after finishing what he offered, I gave him two thumbs up. That finally enticed him to sit down and eat his portion. 

"Any soup left?" 

"Yeah, I'll get some more for you." 

I had four more bowls of the stuff. Probably could've eaten more, but there wasn't any left after the fourth bowl. I mean, I devoured everything except for the containers and silverware. I washed it all down with a can of soda that tasted exactly like Pepsi. 

"Whew, that hit the spot!" I patted my stomach contentedly. Freeza just smiled to himself as he picked up my dishes. He piled them into the dishwasher with the pots and pans. Such a MAN THING, leave a mess for the ladies to clean up! Poor Mrs. Briefs, she must spend hours washing all the plates, bowls and platters Vegeta leaves behind. 

Of course, I'm no better. I didn't bother washing anything either! 

Instead, I leaned back in my chair and stretched, "Hey Freeza?" 

"Ay?" 

I smiled, "Did Cathy ever teach you the waltz?" 

"Sure! Waltz is easy! Me and Cathy did it for our first weddin' dance!" Freeza grabbed me up into a similar position for the Tango, only the steps were a lot easier. He swept me right across the kitchen and into the living room. Right in perfect rhythm with Stevie's beautiful _Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You_ ballad. I got this warm, gooey feeling in my stomach. Part embarrassment for having two left feet and part elation because it was a lot of fun. We probably circled the living room a hundred times. Then the song ended and Freeza dipped me, looking quite pleased with himself. He waltzed way better than he tango-ed. 

The door banged shut and Vegeta's footsteps plodded through the kitchen. He saw Freeza and I in our silly finishing pose. A thick eyebrow went up. 

"What in the world are you two doing?" 

Freeza stood me up, snickering to himself. I wiped my nose with my index finger and laughed, "The waltz! It's fun! C'mon!" 

Call me crazy if you want. I actually grabbed Vegeta and danced him around the room a few times. He didn't like it one bit! 

Vegeta opened his eyes wide at my audacity. "What the - get off me!" He wrenched himself free and scooted across the room, glaring daggers at me. Then he turned his nose up, spinning around to enter the kitchen again. The fridge creaked open. His muffled voice boomed, "I don't have time to deal with you two fools right n - HEY!" Vegeta jerked his head up, "Who stole all the beef?!" 

"Not meeee..." Rolling his eyes upwards, Freeza whistled innocently with his hands behind his back. He looked at me. I looked back at him. We promptly scrambled out of the living room, falling over each other in our haste. The two of us crashed into the room where Piccolo still sat and slammed the door. Then we fell against it and cracked up. Freeza held his fist out. I smacked mine down on top of it and he did the same to mine. 

Piccolo opened one eye, "Do I want to know?" 

Me and Freeza both shouted, "NO!" and went right back to laughing like a couple of morons.   
  


Sleep didn't come easily to me that night. I spent the longest time rocking in place, clutching my blue Rosary beads and praying silently. Praying that Piccolo, Vegeta, Freeza and myself would come out of this alive. Praying that everyone Void absorbed will keep fighting for freedom. Praying that you, the Believers, stay strong. 

A large, strong hand reached out in the darkness and clasped my shoulder. The deep voice belonging to it followed, "Can't sleep either?" 

I kept my voice low so it wouldn't wake Freeza up, "I guess not." 

Piccolo's clothing rustled. In the darkness I just made out his outline turning over to face me. He wasn't wearing his weighted gear if he was laying on his side. I immediately scooted closer. Fitted my head up under his chin and draped a leg over his hip. Piccolo didn't protest. He just lifted his right arm to accommodate me, then draped it over my waist and rested his hand flat against my back. 

Lying close to him gave me comfort. Piccolo can always protect me. 

"It's okay to be a little scared." He rumbled across my hair, "Hey, would you like to go see your parents before we battle Void?" 

I thought about it for a moment. "No...if I do I won't want to leave them." It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. I'd break down if I saw them, I can't afford to lose it now. "You know, it's funny, my dad and I always sit and talk before he goes to sleep at night. When I was little he'd make up stories about characters on TV or from the movies. It always put me to sleep." 

Piccolo rumbled a soft laugh. It made me feel warm inside, knowing he lets himself show more emotion than usual around me when we're alone. He's really a great guy. And I love him to death. 

The brief conversation was enough to relax me. Piccolo's even breathing suggested he'd finally fallen asleep. I pressed my lips to his shoulder, the only part of him I could reach without waking him up. Then I closed my eyes and hoped sleep would find me too.   
  


We all ate breakfast together...except for Piccolo of course. Nobody talked much, there were no dirty looks, no laughing and no food-stealing. Probably the only long discussion we had involved what setting we'd picture when we went under. Everyone agreed to picture Namek - a place we've all seen and are semi-familiar with. The bright colors would also make Void easier to spot. 

Vegeta had already dressed himself in his sleeveless, black spandex bodysuit. Freeza and Piccolo just wore their normal clothes. I have a feeling that Freeza won't have to worry about clothing once he's under. And what was I wearing? Just an oversized DBZ T-shirt and pajama shorts, I wasn't dressed yet. 

I took my morning pill and spoke up, "Hey Vegeta, have any extra bodysuits?" 

The Saiyajin prince chewed noisily on a bacon strip. "Maybe." 

"Can I borrow one?" 

"Maybe." That seemed like the only word in his vocabulary at the moment. 

Time to break the tension. "Is 'maybe' all you can say?" 

He looked me square in the eyes with a perfectly straight face, "Maybe." 

Freeza almost choked on his orange juice. He coughed to cover up his laughing and resumed his breakfast. I smiled over at him. He really is like a big freaking kid. That's a good thing. 

My stomach was too knotted up to accept very much. I only managed one stack of waffles, two strips of bacon and a glass of milk. I left the table a little rudely and headed into the bathroom. If I was gonna die in this fight, I'd rather not have poop on myself and smell like B.O., so I sat on the pot for ten minutes, then took a very hot shower. Washed myself from head to toe three times. 

Ki came in handy for drying off, I didn't even need the towel. I just threw on my underwear and grabbed a towel to cover up for my trip down the hall. 

Suddenly the door opened a crack. A small black object was flung through. "Just push your legs in and pull it up. It's an older one, but it's still wearable," Vegeta's rough voice instructed me. The door slammed shut again with a bang that made me jump. 

"Thanks!" I yelled, even though Vegeta was probably long gone. 

The bodysuit felt like the same material as a bathing suit. And boy did it stretch. No matter what way I pulled it, the material snapped right back to its original shape. Cool! 

I scrunched the bodysuit up and pulled it on like pantyhose, only it went higher than my waist. Getting it un-twisted so I could get my arms into the long sleeves was the hardest part. But I did it! I finally unfurled the last piece that clung tightly to my neck. The material hugged every curve of my body like a second skin. The closest to being naked and still covered.. My mom would demand I put a bra on if she saw me in this thing. But I didn't want falling-down straps bothering me. Besides, you'd see an outline of the bra through it and I don't wanna look stupid! 

Okay, now that I've got that settled, I donned my black sweats and matching tennis-shoes. Combed my hair without trying to tame it, hoping I'd look meaner. Lastly, I put on my make-up. Still using the Stevie Nicks-style, but this time I smoked my eyes with black, fading to gray. Outlined them with black eyeliner and mascara. Minimal blush, just enough to accent my cheekbones. And the darkest red lipstick I owned - Black Cherry. Oh boy, my dad would freak if he saw me like this on any day other than Halloween. 

I surveyed myself in the mirror. The dark eyeshadow and lipstick contrasted with my pale skin. An almost gothic look - minus the dyed-black hair. This style of makeup might not have worked if my eyes stayed blue, but they'd turned to Saiyajin black. Only my hair-color remained unchanged. I barely recognized myself. 

Let's just hope I start feeling as fierce as I look. 

Tightening my fist, I threw a mock punch at the mirror. Then I flung the door open and stepped out. Vegeta was standing there with his arms crossed, scowling. Waiting to see if I measured up as a warrior or not, I'm sure. A faint upwards curl of his mouth hinted at his approval. Piccolo and Freeza joined him. They eyeballed me oddly, but didn't say anything about my new look. 

Piccolo spoke first, "Ready?" 

"As I'll ever be." 

"Well then, mates, let's do it." Freeza stuck his hand out. 

I put my hand on top of Freeza's, "Let's go save some dreams." 

Piccolo placed his hand on top of mine, "We can do this." 

The three of us looked over at Vegeta. He dropped his arms, sneered and slapped his hand down across Piccolo's knuckles. "We will not be conquered." 

Then we separated and started the long walk down the corridor like a group of astronauts walking out to the shuttle. Piccolo, Freeza, myself and Vegeta. All of us wearing game-faces to cover up the apprehension. I felt like a convict being lead to execution. My heart wouldn't stop pounding, the saliva in my mouth dried up and my stomach knotted itself tighter. Moisture prickled up in my armpits and on the back of my neck. Nervous didn't begin to describe how I felt. Yet, at the same time, I felt a rush of exhilaration. Knowing I was about to fight something way stronger than I am seemed...exciting. 

All the training. All the struggling. All the preparation. We're about to find out if it was enough. 

Knock, knock, Void. Ready or not, here we come. 

Believers, are you ready to rumble? 


	19. Part Eighteen

Self-Insertion, violence and language warning. And no, I DON'T wear my makeup like that all the time ;) Just on Halloween. My dad hates any kind of makeup so he's no help when I ask how I look. It's always "too dark". :^/ Also, I'm guessing at everybody's weight(except my own), so don't yell at me if they're wrong. :P 

Quick note: Wanna see something that'll make you Believe even more? Then paste the following URL into your location bar, www.geocities.com|i_believe_in_dbz|ywb.html (make sure you take out the | and put in a / )   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Eighteen

  
  
  
  
  
  


The song Spirit VS. Spirit unwittingly started playing in my head. Everybody's footsteps fell in about the same rhythm as its beat. It gave me goosebumps. This _was_ the day of destiny for everybody's dreams. My mind flashed back to all the good times I had with Piccolo, Freeza and even the brief few involving Vegeta. I pictured all the children of both worlds. This fight would determine their future. 

Stay with us, Believers. We can't afford to lose this one. 

I caught my reflection in a metal panel on the far wall of the corridor. An image of myself walking between Piccolo and Freeza with Vegeta slightly ahead. I can't believe I've changed so much. My hair, my face and my body...it's all different, yet the same. My gold cross and the yin-yang necklace Piccolo made for me glistened brightly against my black jumpsuit. I actually looked like one of the Z-fighters. For the first time in my life, I fit in somewhere. 

After what seemed like the longest walk of my life, Piccolo, Freeza, Vegeta and myself arrived down at the medical ward. A tall nurse weighed us one-by-one before allowing us through the door. Piccolo(minus weighted gear) tipped the scales at over two-hundred-sixty pounds - and I held no candle to him at eighty-four. All the training made me lose much of the weight I struggled to gain, but somehow I don't think weight matters anymore. Vegeta weighed in at two-twelve and Freeza popped up at one-fifteen. 

Everything in the medical ward had been set up exactly the way Vegeta specified. I wondered if I just stepped onto the set of ER. The whole room smelled like alcohol, Band-Aids and metal. White was the main color of choice. Four gurneys with white sheets were lined up side-by-side so the edges touched. A dream catcher hung on the IV stand above each one. 

Piccolo's dream catcher was the one I gave to him on his birthday. Mine was pink with purple beads and four rows of white feathers dangling from the bottom. Freeza's was the same one hanging above him while he was injured. Vegeta's dream catcher was brown with deep red beads and two rows of burnt-orange feathers flowing off each side. I found it kind of cool, the way the colors matched each individual's personality. 

Bulma waited by the door while we stepped through. She wore a simple blue sundress and had her hair in the same style I remembered from the last DBZ episode. 

Piccolo, Freeza and I headed over to the beds, but Vegeta stopped. I watched him speak to Bulma in hushed tones. Bulma reached out and cupped Vegeta's cheek. And for a split second...his perpetual frown disappeared. His eyes softened. A brief smile appeared. He tipped her chin up, said something that made her blush and kissed her. The soft expression left Vegeta's face as soon as the kiss ended. Like Piccolo, he only seemed to show emotion in brief spurts. 

Freeza seemed to have his head together pretty good. He appeared deep in thought. Better to let him be for the moment. Piccolo moved off to the side away from everyone else. From there, he kept watching me. I finally jogged over beside him. 

"This is it." 

Piccolo's gaze followed me when I approached. He exhaled through his nose, flaring his narrow nostrils. "Yeah. Did you take your medication?" 

"Yup, I always do." Then I sobered, he was staring down at me again with wonder in his eyes. "So why do you keep looking at me like that?" 

He seemed a little embarrassed that I'd noticed him staring. Purple flooded his cheeks. "Well, I guess you could say I'm just trying to find the Cyndi I know." 

My face instantly got warm. I glanced over. Nobody was paying attention to the two of us. I levitated up to eye-level with Piccolo, draped my arms around his neck and said, "I'm right here, big guy. I changed a lot outside, but inside I'm still the same old me, you know. Ever hear the old saying 'the more things change, the more they stay the same.'?" 

Piccolo's liquid black eyes softened a fraction of a degree. Briefly reflecting my own feelings. He reached up and traced my jawline with the edge of one sharp nail. It gave me chills. Then he seemed to realize what he was doing and lowered his hand. "Yeah, I've heard that one before." 

"Well, there you go." I rubbed that spot behind both of his ears with my thumbs. His eyes fluttered shut and his lips parted. The same expression he made right before we... oh my God, his body and mind _remembered_ those sensations. Now I realized why my advances frustrated him so much - he _could_ get mentally aroused, but with no way to have sex, it was impossible for him release the pent-up tension. All those hidden desires and no way to satisfy them. 

That iron control of his hid much more than I previously thought. 

"Cyndi," he breathed. 

"Shhh." I stopped teasing his skin and pressed myself tight against him. A fierce hug. This may be the last time I'll get to hold him in my lifetime. "I love you." 

Piccolo's only reply was a soft grunt. I leaned forward to his lips. He grasped my shoulders and kissed me back. I could feel his heart beating like a jackhammer behind his ribs. Mine was doing the same. 

The kiss ended abruptly. We spent a moment with our bottom lips touching, breathing each other's warm breath. Then I hugged Piccolo again, my cheek buried against his abundant collar. Piccolo lowered his arms to his sides, deciding not to hug back. He just rested his chin on my shoulder and closed his eyes. I actually felt his mind settle down. It helped ease my nerves, too. 

Through the corner of my eye I saw Freeza watching us with a knowing smile. He politely looked away and climbed onto the left-most gurney. Right underneath his dream catcher. Vegeta walked over to the right-most gurney where his dream catcher hung, sat down and reclined himself comfortably. The medical technicians started inserting an IV catheter into Freeza's left and Vegeta's right arm. Other monitoring equipment and wires were also attached. 

The moment I'd been dreading had arrived. It was time to go. 

Piccolo sensed my distress. He waited until I'd lowered to the ground and gave my shoulders a little squeeze. "It's gonna be okay, kid. One way or another, it'll be all over soon." 

"Yeah," I blinked away some unbidden tears and smiled up at him. "Let's go kick Void's crusty ass." 

"Now you're talking." Piccolo gave my back a pat and let me go. 

We gazed into each others' eyes for just a second longer. Piccolo finally turned away and removed his weighted gear. Why he put it back on when he'd just have to remove it again, I don't know. He didn't look back. 

Leaving his cape and turban where they fell, Piccolo approached the row of gurneys and positioned himself next to Freeza. That would put me between him and Vegeta. 

"Come along now." 

I glanced towards the voice and saw the same nurse who clamped Freeza's artery. She was a petite woman like me, except she had a lot more meat on her bones. Perhaps a little too much for her size. Light pink curls poked out from under her white nurse's hat. I felt more comfortable knowing she was doing this and not some nurse I'd never seen before. 

Piccolo was all set by the time I climbed onto the only empty space left. The kindly nurse set up the IV clamp before I was allowed to lay down. The same monitoring equipment was wired to me as well. I became fascinated with the glowing red cuff on my finger that monitored my pulse and oxygen saturation. 

"All right, everyone." Piccolo stated, "We should join hands so the mind-link will be stronger. Once we're under, we'll probably find ourselves separated. The first priority is meeting up again. If you see Void, _do not_ engage her. We have to go for her together. Picture your dream catchers just in case you need to scare her off. Is everybody clear?" 

Freeza gave a thumbs-up, "It's a go." 

"Very well," Vegeta added in. 

"Right." I chimed. 

"Good." Piccolo slipped his hand around mine and tenderly interlocked our fingers, encasing my palm in leathery warmth. 

I smiled over at the handsome green man and reached over to fit my palm across Vegeta's. The Saiyajin Prince's damp, calloused hand clamped around mine like a Venus fly trap. Piccolo and Freeza probably grasped each others' hand in the same manner. 

"Okay then." The nurse in charge, the one I remembered, stood at the foot of our gurneys. "Once you guys are out, I'm going to attach an oxygen mask to each of you. If we notice someone's saturation dropping, we'll turn on the oxygen until it comes back up. There's also a crash cart and intensive care units on standby in case some of you get into serious trouble. We're also going to hook each of you up to a machine that transmits images from your visual cortex to a computer screen we'll all be monitoring." 

A machine that lets people see another's dreams. Bulma must have invented that one. Also a great idea, they'd be able to see what's going on. 

"How fast does this medicine work?" I asked, watching the nurses nervously. 

"Fast enough that you can't count backwards from ten to one." Bulma replied from somewhere beyond my field of vision. "Don't worry, you're in good hands here." 

Piccolo gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. _It'll be okay, kid._

_I believe you,_ came my silent reply, my hand squeezing Piccolo's in return. 

Bulma released a puff of air through her mouth. She appeared in my peripheral vision, "All right then, any other questions before we begin?" 

Nobody spoke. The room got so quiet I could hear the fluorescent lights buzzing and the whine of a refrigeration unit against the wall. My autism affects my sense of hearing a little bit, some sounds I hear more intensely than "normal" people. Not quite as acute as Piccolo's, but enough that certain loud noises bother me. Especially high-pitched ones. Smoke alarms and referee whistles are the worst - like knives entering my head. The squealing refrigeration unit proved quite annoying. Tolerable, but I wished someone could turn it off or move it somewhere else. It wouldn't matter in a few minutes anyway. 

"Okay then," this time the kindly nurse spoke up, "I'm just going to go down the line and give you your first injection. Then I'll turn on your IV to give you constant, tiny doses so you don't start waking up too soon." 

She went to Freeza first, picking up a syringe with just the right dosage for him. Piccolo's torso blocked my view of the actual injection. Freeza's red eyes became visibly heavy before the nurse lifted the needle. He mumbled something about getting stoned and his eyelids slid shut. 

Piccolo was next. He didn't get sleepy right away like Freeza, probably because he's so much bigger. It hit him hard when it started working - he went out like a light. His hand rapidly went limp against mine. 

The nurse took hold of my IV catheter and stuck the needle in. I noticed the liquid inside was clear like ordinary water. A final wave of fear washed over me. My eyes stayed riveted on the syringe, watching the plunger push the solution into my vein. It made my arm feel warm and tingly. This weird sensation spread to my neck and head. I was suddenly heavy all over. Sounds echoed from far off. Spots danced before my eyes, I couldn't keep my eyelids open anymore. 

And then I fell backwards into oblivion.   
  


Dim awareness came back to me after God-knows-how-long. The first thing I experienced was sunlight stabbing my closed eyelids. Harsh sunlight. Yet the air was comfortable - not too hot or cold. Grass cushioned me and tickled against my exposed skin. I could smell water nearby. Wind whispered against my ear, stirring my wild hair. 

I jackknifed into a sitting position and opened my eyes. My vision was blurred. But I saw enough to freak out. A GIANT saucer-shaped monster sat right in front of me! It was black, yellow and white, and half the size of a football stadium - with tons of metallic legs and a massive, bulging eye. 

"YAAAAAAH!" I scrambled away, wiping my eyes as I went. I looked back with clearer vision to see if this thing was following me. The "creature" stayed put. 

Hey, that wasn't a monster! It was Freeza's ship! 

What a relief...getting killed before the fight would just suck, wouldn't it? Damn, and King Kold's ship was even bigger than this one! 

I flopped down onto my butt, forcing myself to calm down and take in my surroundings. Green all around. The sky, grass, water and even the visible sun shone greenish-white. 

An idea crept into my mind, making me smile. Nobody would mind if I took a minute to check Freeza's ship out, would they? Nah, it wouldn't hurt! I launched myself off the grass and landed roughly on top of the ship. The topside hatch was already open. Down I went, "Oof," ending up on my butt at the bottom. Gotta work on those landings. 

Lots of purple and yellow in the corridors, with machinery, pipes and panels lining the walls. I think the ship was laid out in a spider-web pattern. You can start from the center and work your way out, with personal living areas and the bridge being on the outermost edge. 

I dashed for the door on my right and hoped I'd find my way to Freeza's quarters. I've always wondered what that black thing attached to the wall is. Not his hoverpod...that thing in the background. 

Getting to the room I wanted took four tries. Oh boy, it's huge. By itself, the chamber was two times bigger than Vegeta's gravity room! That's scary! The round window took up an entire wall, the biggest single piece of glass I've ever laid eyes on. I immediately looked up at the fixture I always puzzled over. It was black and white and shaped kind of like Kami's Lookout with a gold spindle-looking thing on the bottom. It was attached to the wall by a thick, curving metal column that seemed as decorative as it was functional. 

I lifted off and floated up for a closer look. Inside I saw black blankets, a well-hidden pillow and a control panel that probably controlled the lights. The mystery object was exactly what I thought it was - a bed. A bed just barely big enough for Freeza to lay flat in. On the other side of the raised "headboard" was an oval speaker with buttons underneath. Probably a com system. What an obnoxious place to have an intercom! 

I'll admit my priorities are a little screwed, but I've always wondered about that thing and now I know what it is! 

Okay, with that settled, I could set out on my search for the others. 

Then I saw something through the corner of my eye. A shadow on the ground outside the window. One of the guys? No, the wrong shape. I spotted its source and cursed silently. It was Void! Flying around aimlessly like one of those monsters in Final Fantasy Seven, I don't remember it's name. It's that creature you have to fight if it contacts the airship and it likes to run away a lot. Had I not gone into Freeza's ship, I might be dead right now. That had to be God's doing! 

Enough about that, though. Void knows we're here and she's looking for us! 

I watched the dark being until she vanished into the distance. Not daring to let her spot me leaving the ship. I'd never forgive myself if we all got killed because I was careless and didn't check over my shoulder. With Void out of sight, I made my exit. 

Phew, it was bright! I whipped my sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on. Checked the sky for the alignment of the suns. One was overhead and another just coming up. I mentally noted that direction as east, turned my back towards it and struck out west. 

No matter how many times I fly, I can't get over how thrilling it is. The way the wind roars through my ears and whips my hair...it's just too cool for words! Wearing my shades kept the wind out of my eyes, so going fast wasn't a problem. 

I'd flown halfway over a fast body of water when a buzz went off in my head. Like little hammers pounding my skull at high speed, very different from the tingle Void induced. That meant one of the good guys was up ahead. I flew faster, relieved that I wouldn't be alone for much longer. 

"What the...don't fly like that, you fool!" A rough voice exploded from behind a cliff, "Void might pick up your power!" 

I facevaulted in mid air and came in for an extremely painful skid-on-the-ground landing. Man, when will I get the hang of it? 

Vegeta practically pounced on me. He yanked me to my feet, shoved me under a rocky outcropping and wiggled in after me. Void's shadow passed over the ground less than a second after he pulled his feet in. The overhang was so low it pushed his hair down almost to his back. He looked oddly human. 

Good thing we're both small, I don't think Piccolo and I could've fit in the same place together. But having Vegeta on top of me while trapped in a cramped space wasn't exactly a picnic. He weighed a lot more than I do and his heaving chest was crushing my itty-bitty boobs! **Ouch!** I just hoped nobody wandered by and saw us like this, they'd get the WRONG idea. 

"Is she gone yet?" I asked after we'd been stuck together for almost two minutes. I'll be enjoying a Charlie horse pretty soon, I'm sure. 

"Shh!" 

I made a face at him. Vegeta squirmed some more, turning around so his boots nearly scraped my face. His clothes made swishing noises as they brushed against the rocks. He poked his head into the sunlight for a look around. Then he pulled himself out. I slid out after him and stood up, dusting myself off. 

He didn't even give me time to breathe! "Now...let's get out of here. Quickly!" 

My best bet was to keep my mouth shut and follow his instructions(orders?). Vegeta knew what he was doing better than I did, after all. I watched the arrogant Saiyajin look around. Probably searching for a power reading. 

"All right, I've located Piccolo and Freeza. They're close together." He faced me slowly, scowled and went on, "Take to the air and fly slow, we do NOT want Void sensing us, is that clear?" 

"Got it." Being talked to like I was two years old didn't make me very happy. I hate it when people treat me like I'm stupid! "You don't have to treat me like an idiot, you know." I created a cushion of ki between myself and the ground so I hovered four feet in the air. "Anyway...how can you tell different powers apart? All I can tell is someone's there while you seem to know which is which." 

Vegeta was already ten feet away when he started replying. I didn't hear him. I caught up with my trademark "huh?" routine. That made him roll his eyes and repeat himself, "Everybody's power has a unique vibration. No two are exactly alike. Pay attention to the frequencies of vibration when you feel a power. Piccolo's is slower than Freeza's. And the stronger someone is, the more intense the vibration. Does that make sense or should I simplify it more for your pitiful brain?" 

I wrinkled my nose, "No, I got it." 

My God, he was right! The difference in the two powers was evident once I knew how to distinguish them. Freeza's power felt like the vibrations of an electric razor, where Piccolo's was similar to an idling car engine. Vegeta's came up halfway between the two. 

"Let me guess...the frequencies have to do with body size. The bigger someone is, the slower the vibrations." 

"Give the girl a cookie, she figured it out." Vegeta narrowed his eyes against the wind. I was smugly satisfied with myself for remembering my sunglasses. He couldn't keep his eyes fully open - haha! 

The two powers ahead stopped moving. My guess is they sensed us coming and were letting us catch up. Now all we had to do was spot them and - 

"Vegeta, Cyndi! Down here!" Freeza's voice called from...somewhere in the rocky valley up ahead. How weird! His accent was completely gone, replaced with his old one! Just like the first time he got Void off me after she broke my ribs. It's weird, I can't explain it. 

I yelled back, "Where are you? I can't see you!" 

Freeza climbed into view and waved both hands above his head. I'd been right about him not needing clothes - he was in his sleek, white fourth form. That also meant I was the shortest of the group again since Freeza's fourth form makes him closer to Vegeta's height. 

Joy, time for another landing. I angled myself upright like Piccolo showed me and set down. Yay for me! I stumbled, but didn't fall. The trick is slowing down before I start spilling altitude. Should've thought of that before. 

"You can get friendly later!" Piccolo snarled from somewhere out of sight. "Get in here, and hurry! Void is gonna make another pass any second now." 

"C'mon, follow me." Freeza hopped gently to the ground and entered a cave hidden by a rocky overhang. Virtually impossible to spot from the air. Vegeta and I followed the small Icejin into the dark, dusty crack in the rock wall. It was just big enough for the four of us to fit with enough room for one more person. The extra space let everybody scoot back out of the light. Enough light reached inside for everyone to see, but we weren't visible from outside. 

I found myself smashed up against Piccolo's heaving abs. No complaints there! "Boy am I glad we found each other. Having Void cruise around is making me nervous." 

Void's shadow glided by. She didn't see or sense us. 

"Yeah," the Namek whispered tersely after the danger passed, "Does everybody have their dream catchers for emergencies?" Freeza, Vegeta and I all pulled ours out into view. Piccolo nodded his approval. "Good, now we just need a plan of attack..."   
  


Piccolo's deep, raspy voice fell silent. Vegeta and Freeza were both nodding their heads in agreement. I felt like throwing up and hiding in a corner until this whole issue was settled. Nobody noticed my discomfort or asked if I was okay with this. Piccolo usually came up with good plans, he wouldn't make me do something if he didn't think I could succeed. 

"So in essence, I'm the bait." I muttered sullenly. 

"Right," Piccolo answered, glancing down at me, "You draw her attention while we converge and attack." 

Freeza held his chin between thumb and forefinger. His black lips pursed themselves tightly together in thought. A few creases appeared in his otherwise flawless forehead. He swished his long white tail against the dust, "She'll know it's a trick." 

"Not if Void thinks we're still separated." Vegeta broke in as he saw fit. His face assumed its usual arrogant smirk, "We just can't let her sense the rest of us until we attack," He slapped his fist against his palm, "by then she won't know what hit her. We have to move fast to catch a creature like her by surprise." 

I backed off and nervously twirled a strand of hair between my fingers. Perhaps if I made myself inconspicuous enough, they'd come up with a different plan. 

Fat chance. 

Everybody was looking right at me. 

"Can I have a last meal before I get killed?" I squeaked. 

Piccolo clapped a hand onto my shoulder. Trying to reassure me with touch the way I so often did for him. "Relax, kid. I'm having you bait her because you're the smallest and the lightest. Smaller fighters are harder to hit, and your weight makes you the fastest in the air. You can outrun her without a problem." 

I've never really seen how fast I can fly before... But Piccolo did have a point. I gulped and took a quick look around at the others. Freeza looked tense. Vegeta appeared bored. I swallowed again. 

"Before you fly away, go up and see how this place looks from the air. Once you get Void's attention, you need to lure her back here. You're good at pissing people off, Cyndi. Get her riled up before you lead her to us. If she's angry enough she might not think clearly. That's when we'll spring our surprise." He grinned toothily, flashing his menacing fangs. 

"Joy." I suppressed a shiver that ran down my spine. Being chosen to tangle with Void, no matter how fast I was, didn't sound very pleasant. That freak scared me. She gives me nightmares. Literally, as you can see. 

Hopefully, the nightmare will be over soon. 

"Okay, I'm going to get a bird's eye view, and then I'm gonna go seek Void out." 

Without further adieu, I padded outside and took to the air. Taking off is the coolest part of flying, it's like a bubble in my stomach that springs me right up in the air! 

I drifted up at least a hundred feet or so and looked down. The overhang hiding the cave from view had three trees in a triangle growing right under a craggy arch. The ground had more dirt than grass. Okay, so it was brown with a tree-triangle and an arch. Got it. I checked the position of the suns. I'd see this view while facing east. 

Perfect! 

I shouted down, "Here I go, guys!" 

Time to see how fast I really am. I let the energy pushing me forward blaze out of control. It poured out around my body like blue-white fire coming from a rocket engine. The terrain below blurred into an endless stream of green and brown. My aura parted the ocean and blasted deep ridges into the ground. I'm surprised my face didn't peel off! 

Barrel roll! Loop! Corkscrew! 

"WOOHOO! YEEHAW!" 

I was faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! I was...doing a bad impression of Superman. But really, I felt untouchable! Nothing could catch me!   
  


Finding Void became harder than I first thought. It's funny how you see something all the time, then when you want it you can't find it. I slowed down considerably to conserve my energy for the fight. If Void was cruising around, I'd spot her. As I flew, I noticed something odd. Time didn't seem to pass. The suns remained fixed in exactly the same positions - one overhead and one just rising. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it sure looked eerie. I reminded myself it was a dream - and dreams aren't always completely logical. How else would a planet that didn't seem to rotate have gravity? 

Ugh, I could twist my mind in knots trying to figure it out. I regained focus on my goal. 

Suddenly I felt a tingle in my skull. A dark, slow buzzing from somewhere on the ground. Well, well, well...I found Void after all! Now to put the plan into action. 

I drifted around, using my senses like a radar until I located Void. She was crouched down on all fours, lapping water from a lake. From my vantage point I could see the water rippling around her mouth. What a strange creature. She seems so humanoid, yet she drinks just like my cats! 

An idea hit me. Piccolo said to piss her off, didn't he? 

Void continued gorging herself on water. She paid no attention to her surroundings. How arrogant can you get?! I slipped behind the large black form and inched closer. So close that I'd be dead if she turned around. All I needed now was a perfect opening. Void finished drinking, stood up and stretched. Still unaware of my presence. Didn't she sense me? 

No, who cares! I had my opening! 

I launched myself at Void. Grabbed the back of her head and slammed her face-first into the water. Perfect bulldog! I learned that from watching too much WWE Wrestling. 

"Hey! What the - " Ker-SPLASH! 

I kicked more water in her face, "Tag, you're it!" 

Void exploded from the water's surface. She flared her silver aura, blasting water droplets off her armored hide. Her chilling eyes narrowed on me. "Grr! I'll get you for that! Get back here!" 

"Not on your life!" I gave her the finger and flew off. Void instantly got on my tail. I sped up so she fell behind. "Oh come on, Void! You're so slow you couldn't catch a cold! BWA HA HA!" 

"You'd be surprised at what I can do!" Void spat back. 

I sped up even more when she started gaining on me. She kept matching my speed! 

Diving down, I whipped a hairpin turn around a large cliff. She maneuvered just as easily as I did. Not good! I quit playing around and started towards the island where Piccolo, Freeza and Vegeta were waiting. No matter how fast I went, Void kept catching up! 

Tree triangle! Rocky arch! Three powers all boiling over! 

"Hey Void, you suck!" I looped back suddenly and planted both feet in Void's back. She moved to block, but not in time. The blow smashed her straight into the ground. 

Then all Hell broke loose. 

"YAAH!" Freeza jumped up from behind the arch with his palm outstretched. A yellow sphere appeared around Void, trapping her. She snarled at him. The small Icejin grinned coldly, "Careful, you'll blow up if this ball touches anything other than me." 

Piccolo and Vegeta were standing right behind the arch. Both were highly powered up - Vegeta, now in Super Saiyajin form, held both arms out to the side. His face was fierce with concentration. Piccolo's hands were clasped in front of his chest with bright energy glowing between them. His expression also bore fearsome intensity. The whole island shook from all the energy being gathered at once. Would it hold up? 

I dropped down near the gathering and concentrated on my own energy. Holding my palms up, I grinned and let the crimson sphere grow. It used to take me almost two full minutes to power this up. Now, after all the training, I was ready within thirty seconds. My body tingled in anticipation. Energy from the ball blew my hair around. 

Freeza, Vegeta, Piccolo and I all looked at each other. Void snarled several words I won't repeat. 

"Be quiet!" Freeza smacked her around a little, making her shut up. Go Freeza! 

Vegeta glared Freeza's way, "Do it." 

"Gladly." The Icejin happily kicked Void straight up like a soccer ball. Everybody else aimed for the sky. 

"_FINAL FLASH!_" 

"_CHOUBAKURETSUMAHA!_" 

"_GEKIDOSHINKU!_" 

The entire world lit up as two huge, golden beams and a bolt of red electricity shot skyward, filling the air with blistering heat. Recoil from my own attack knocked me on my butt. 

Nothing happened. Then... 

**_KA-BLAAAAAAM!_**

The sky turned pink and white. An explosion so bright and loud it outshone the suns and put sonic booms to shame. I actually covered my ears. Two thundering shockwaves slammed into the island, snapping trees like twigs and tossing rocks everywhere. It felt like twin sledgehammers smashing into my body. 

Silence. Utter, complete silence. 

I staggered to my feet. Piccolo, Freeza and Vegeta were watching the sky intently. There was too much smoke to see anything. "Did we get her?" 

Piccolo's dark eyes glanced my way, "Can't tell until the smoke clears. I don't sense her..." 

"She might have escaped, but not in time to get away from all that." Freeza joined in. His slanted eyes remained fixed on the sky. "Wow..." 

That made Vegeta bristle. A ripple of gold energy shot up his frame, "Shut up! The smoke is thinning out!" 

Sure enough, the gray substance grew thinner. Sunlight shined through in brilliant rays. Everyone tensed in anticipation. I swallowed with a dry throat and bit my tongue to generate more spit. Not as good as drinking water, but better than being thirsty. A gust of wind blew the remaining smoke particles away and... 

Nothing. Void was gone! 

"Where'd she go?!" I gasped. 

"Looking for me?" 

I heard a pop and spun around. A massive ki blast was heading straight for me. 


	20. Part Nineteen

Self-Insertion, violence and language warning. Sorry about the delay, I've been having trouble getting into ff.net.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Nineteen

  
  
  
  
  
  


"Where'd she go?!" I gasped. 

"Looking for me?" 

I heard a pop and spun around. A massive ki blast was heading straight for me. 

Logic would suggest that I dodge. But my mind went blank. I froze. 

Suddenly a huge force slammed into me from behind. Powerful hands yanked me backwards. I toppled onto a large body, my sunglasses flying off. Void's boiling-hot ki beam tore through the air less than an inch from my nose, incinerating my shades before they could fall! The air smelled like ozone. More explosions and choking smoke. Confusion! At that moment my mind snapped into a new understanding. The danger was real, not contained behind a TV screen. I might DIE here! 

The rescuer's smooth hands shoved me back upright. I twisted my head around and stared up at Piccolo's handsome green face. His eyes were fixed on Void, a growl rumbling in his throat. "Don't let her overwhelm you, Cyndi." 

"Easier said than done." 

"Yes..." Void's silver eyes shimmered eerily. She smiled. Then she blurred from view. Freeza and Vegeta both cursed. I could hear the sounds of battle behind me. Did I dare turn around? I was afraid that if I did, Void would be coming at me next. If she was going to kill me, I didn't want to see it coming. 

I didn't have to turn, Piccolo grabbed my arm and did it for me. I saw...nothing but air! Sometimes I spotted flashes of light or bits of dust flying up. Hearing was no problem. Shit, how was I supposed to keep up with that? 

Oh yeah... 

"Hey Piccolo, does letting my eyes go out of focus still work if I want to watch them fight?" 

Piccolo's dark eyes were following something. "Yes." He answered without moving his lips much. "Just remember, you're looking for the light their energy gives off. Your brain will fill in the rest. It's an optical illusion." 

"Right." 

But I've never been good at staring at optical illusions. Like those weird patterns that are supposed to have a three-dimensional picture hidden inside - I can never see the hidden picture! It must be another autism thing. 

It was still worth a shot. I let my vision blur and go double. The world around me went out of focus and I tried not to blink. For a long time I didn't see anything. 

Wait! A flicker! I jerked my eyeballs towards the flash. Another glimmer, up higher! Right, left, no right! Piccolo was right, my brain did fill in the forms of Void, Vegeta and Freeza. They were locked in a fierce hit-and-block routine. Sometimes I saw little streaks of blood go flying. I couldn't tell who was winning. 

All at once the noise stopped. Vegeta and Freeza slammed into the ground, toppling the rocky arch they hid behind earlier. Void landed gracefully with her back to Piccolo and I. She wasn't even breathing hard! 

"If that's the best you can do, you're wasting my time," she cackled at them while they were down. 

Ooh, that made my blood boil! Laughing at people while they're hurt, that's just messed up! 

My aura flared, making Piccolo step away from me. The way I perceived everything changed...time slowed down. Smoke seemed to stand still. Piccolo's eyelids took forever to close and open. I saw the world like Zero-zero-nine on that Cyborg show when he uses "acceleration mode". Now I would be moving fast like the previous scuffle - untrained eyes wouldn't spot me. 

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I launched myself at Void's unprotected back. To _me,_ it was no different than any other time I ran. Weird how hyper-ki-souped-speed works. 

Void expected such a dumb move. She did a roundhouse kick that nailed me square in the jaw. I spun in mid-air. A large, black hand wrapped around my ankle. I was then slammed twice into the ground. 

CRUNCH! 

Ever hear your own skull impacting solid rock? It's a sickening sound. My ears rang. I saw stars. The world swam. I was too dazed to feel actual pain. 

A massive fist smashed into my gut, making me gag on my own blood. Then I was kicked aside like trash, where I crashed onto the rocks burying Vegeta and Freeza. Had I been a normal human, I'd be dead. I wished that were true - the pain sank in. Dull aching in my head, a knot in my gut and stinging from where I scraped the rocks. 

I didn't think it was possible to lose consciousness in a dream, but it happened. Darkness engulfed me.   
  


Blinding light stabbed against my eyeballs. Harsh wind blasted my ear. I tried to turn away from it. To shut it out. Pain returned tenfold and with such sudden intensity that I actually started to cry. I haven't cried because of pain for years. Screw being some tough fighter, I HURT! 

"Owwww..." I whimpered, squirming against whatever held me. The strong arms tightened and held me fast. 

Piccolo whispered, "Quiet, we're on the run. Void hasn't found us again yet." 

I made another attempt to sit up or do SOMETHING helpful. Piccolo's grip on me tightened further. Almost painfully, I hissed at him until he stopped digging his nails into my arm. 

"Stop moving or I'll drop you!" The Namek snarled angrily. He gave me a poisonous glare through smoldering black eyes. That scared me into being still. "You were unconscious for a long time and your body needs time to regulate itself. Just rest for a bit, will you? I can't think if you're squirming around like a worm." 

Well damn, what was I supposed to do? I could tilt my head back, so I checked behind and ahead of us. We were flying through a steep brown valley. Freeza flew slightly ahead while Vegeta brought up the rear. Everybody flew slowly...or at least slow compared to flying while powered up. Nobody showed an obvious aura. So we really were on the run again. 

Piccolo darted sideways and barrel-rolled through a tight tunnel. Barely turning in time to avoid smashing us into a thick stalagmite. I clung tighter to his neck, shutting my eyes. I was on a roller coaster from Hell and I wanted off! 

Then again, being carried felt safer. I don't think I could maneuver like Piccolo did. I would've slowed everyone down each time they had to make a sharp, sudden turn. 

Where was Void? 

"She's coming up from the south!" Freeza shouted. The wind almost ripped his voice out of hearing range. "I don't think she can spot us in here yet. That bald human used this place to draw me away from the others a long time ago." He sneered, "Void loves games of cat and mouse." 

Vegeta snarled a word I won't repeat. I got tense. Piccolo gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and banked gently around another curve. 

"Let me fly on my own." 

Piccolo's frown deepened. "No, Void probably thinks you're more seriously injured than you really are. We can use that to our advantage and spring a surprise on her." 

"Oh right, the last one worked really well. I nearly got my ass kicked!" 

"Will you two shut up! All your whimpering is going to draw her attention!" Vegeta growled from behind, "There's a crack in the wall here, we should hide out and regroup." 

"Good idea, I think she's still smarting after that blast Piccolo nailed her with. What do you call that beam again?" Freeza came up to glide alongside Piccolo and I. 

"You mean my _mankankosappo?_ That was just a lucky shot. She wasn't watching her back." 

"She won't make that mistake again." I mumbled. Right then we all zipped into a tiny crack in the wall. Even smaller than the first. Everybody got squished together. 

Piccolo didn't seem very fond of the small space at all. This time the opening was really a squeeze for him and almost no light came inside. The poor Namek wound up scrunched on his side in almost fetal position with one leg up against the wall and the other folded underneath him. I was smashed up against his chest, my legs had nowhere to go except around his waist. Freeza and Vegeta were both smashed together, a tangle of limbs against Piccolo's legs. I didn't know this, but Freeza is a contortionist. He didn't seem at all uncomfortable with his knees up to his chest and his feet almost level with his head. His tail did take up a lot of room though(it's as long as he is tall!). Vegeta, on the other hand, looked pretty uncomfortable all squeezed into a sitting position while the low ceiling forced his chin down to his chest. This must be how quadruplets feel before they're born. 

Needless to say, four sources of body-heat and heavy breathing made the air get stuffy pretty quick. 

_Not enough air in here.._. I heard Piccolo thinking to himself. He sounded...afraid. I never imagined Piccolo being scared. Startled maybe, but never scared. He breathed shallower. His heart thudded harder. He was trembling and sweating more heavily than normal. 

My mind went back to the conversation I had with Vegeta. We talked about smelling fear. He said someone's scent changes when they're afraid. 

He was right. Piccolo's salty, dusty desert scent gained a new, almost tangy edge. Is that the smell of adrenalin leaking out in his sweat? 

It just so happens that Piccolo is claustrophobic. Which is why he prefers large, open spaces. An elevator is no problem, but a space so small he can't stretch out seems to bother him. I'm guessing this fear of enclosed spaces stemmed from coming to consciousness inside a cramped little egg. 

Freeza and Vegeta didn't say anything to each other, or to us for that matter. One of those long, awkward silences. 

I turned my attention to Piccolo. He kept breathing faster and faster. 

_There's plenty of air here_. I told him, brushing a hand against his sweaty cheek. _Stop breathing so fast or you're gonna hyperventilate_. 

Piccolo shifted uncomfortably against hard the rock wall. Bits of dust and pebbles crackled against his clothes and shoes. His antennae brushed against my forehead. _Need air.._. 

_No, you're okay. Just breathe with me, okay?_ I demonstrated slow, calm and natural breaths, and felt his chest respond in the same rhythm. _See? You're doing fine.._. 

A thump sounded above. The whole ceiling of the small crevice shuddered. Everybody stared straight up. I could sense a dark, pulsing ki. Only one person felt like that. Void was standing right on top of the cave we were hiding in! 

Okay, NOW I began to get a little nervous. The opening to this place wasn't visible from in the air. But on the ground? It might as well have a huge neon sign pointing down and blinking 'HERE WE ARE' in huge red letters. All Void needed to do was walk about six feet and look down. 

Everybody tensed up. I felt adrenalin escape into my bloodstream in the form of a knot in my stomach. Then my heart beat faster. The sweat on my skin grew clammy. I breathed shallowly like Piccolo was earlier. I'd probably pee on myself if I had a full bladder. 

Personally, I think Void was just toying with us. Like Freeza said, she seemed fond of cat-and-mouse games. 

Freeza's sugary-smelling sweat increased. His hand was resting against my leg, inadvertently allowing me to feel his fingers shake. I could only imagine the horrid thoughts going through his head. Of his death at Void's hands, the terrible things she made him do and a million other cruel punishments she might inflict on him when she finds us. 

Vegeta seemed calm enough, although he was sweating quite a bit too. Yuck, someone needs to teach him why deodorant is a good thing! Blame him if Void sniffs us out. Him and his stinky pits. 

Actually, I'm exaggerating. It wasn't too bad, I doubt a normal human nose would pick it up. I felt sorry for Freeza since he was the one smashed against Vegeta's left side. 

It didn't help that Void's footsteps made that same metallic noise that Cell's did. Everybody heard every step she took above us. She seemed to be pacing back and forth. Pondering what she should do next. Who to hurt first. Who to kill. Who to torture. 

All of a sudden... 

PLUNK! 

A sharp two-foot-long stinger smashed through the roof of the cave. Imagine a hypodermic needle. Now imagine it being the same diameter as a broomstick. Scared yet? 

The Flu Shot From Hell, excuse me, Void's stinger, stopped just above Piccolo's left ankle. Right next to the sliver of exposed skin between his leggings and his shoe. Crap, and he had nowhere else to move his foot except up against the wall! 

Then I started hearing this weird noise. Like water dripping on skin. The drip became a steady stream. But when was the last time water had a sour, metallic scent? 

Piccolo gasped in obvious pain. His leg shook, but he couldn't move away from the onslaught. He clenched his teeth until they nearly broke. I glanced up and saw the skin around his ankle turning purple as the acid poured over it, coating the exposed flesh completely. The skin became a sizzling, steamy mess with bubbling bits dropping off. Bone, soft tissue and muscle stood exposed to the stream, yet Piccolo somehow remained utterly silent by gripping my shoulder hard. The dissolving tissue created a horrible smell in the small crevice. 

Finally Piccolo's foot just fell off, landing with a soft plop in a puddle of bubbling organic material. He groaned and buried his face against my neck. With room to move his leg now, Piccolo pulled it forward and clutched the melted stump. Oddly, it didn't bleed much, but I saw enough leg-gore to make me lose my appetite for a few hours. 

The acid was so strong it reduced the severed foot to sludge and started eating through the solid rock below. No more acid flowed after that. Freeza and Vegeta noticed Piccolo's leg and met it with equally grossed-out expressions. 

Everybody remained utterly still. Void's stinger finally pulled out of the cave ceiling. Sunlight filtered in through the hole. She hadn't flushed us out, or she felt satisfied that she killed everyone. Now maybe she'll go away. 

There was a swish. Void took off. 

"She's coming back," Piccolo whispered dazedly. "Get out of here, I'll join you after I've regenerated my foot." 

I grabbed the front of his baggy gi shirt, "I'm not leaving you here, Piccolo!" 

"No, he has a good plan." Freeza nearly elbowed Vegeta in the gut to grab my arm, "If Void thinks he's dead and you're still hurt, we can catch her by surprise. I'll carry you out. Pretend you're still out cold." 

Vegeta snickered at Piccolo's condition, his dirty face eerie in the dim light. "I'll go attack her head on. She may not expect someone to sneak up on her while she's in the heat of battle. Her arrogance will be her downfall. Get your pathetic hides out when you hear the fighting start." 

"Wait - " 

The Saiyajin prince was already scrambling for freedom. He straightened out, exploded into Super Saiyajin and jumped out of sight. I felt his ki signature heading straight for Void's. 

I swear...that man is too bullheaded for his own good! 

Freeza uncurled from his pretzel position and tugged on my arm. "C'mon, let's go while we can." 

"I won't leave Piccolo!" 

"Cyndi," Piccolo's voice echoed strangely in the small space. Though he wasn't bleeding visibly, he still had a little puddle of blood collecting around his mutilated ankle. He didn't seem to be in pain anymore. Or just stopped showing it so I'd leave him. "Go with Freeza. I'll be okay." 

Torn between staying and leaving, I held a finger up to Piccolo's green face, "You better be okay. Otherwise I'll shoot myself and come kick your butt all over Otherworld." 

He smiled crookedly, "That gives me some reason to avoid dying, doesn't it, kid?" 

Wow, Piccolo made a joke on purpose! I didn't think he had it in him. 

"I hope so." I leaned up to kiss him, then "fainted" with a hand over my forehead. "Oh dear me, I'm going unconscious." 

Freeza caught me and shook his head at my dramatics. "Give her an Oscar." 

Next thing I knew, sunlight blasted my face and eyeballs. I resisted the urge to wrap both arms around Freeza's neck for a more secure hold during flight. Unconscious people don't hang on when they're being carried. 

Off to my left came noises from the battle. Lots of skin on metal/skin/bone with swearing, name-calling and general snarling mixed in. It sounded pretty heated. Void and Vegeta were going everywhere. Up, down, sideways, smashing into the ground and cliffsides. Trees went down. Large cracks split the ground open, I knew this because I heard the rocky soil crumble. Flashes of ki went off, brilliant against my closed lids. 

Being unable to see a fight is almost as unnerving as sitting in a cave, waiting to be found! 

"How much further?!" 

"Not far," Freeza answered me cautiously. The poor guy was probably scared shitless, and I don't blame him one bit! I knew exactly how he felt. "Get ready, I'm going to touch down behind a bush. I'm going to put you down and power up to fifty percent of my maximum. Wait until I leave before you 'come to' and join in. You don't have to act injured after this." 

"Okay." 

We descended rapidly into the cool shade of the said foliage. I opened my eyes and wondered if this bush was an Ajisa plant left to grow in the wild. Hard to tell. I twisted my head sideways, watching Freeza gather his energy. 

Freeza's face remained utterly calm. He placed one foot behind the other and held both hands out. His energy just swirled forth. Nothing tattle-tale like a huge aura or earthquakes. Just small bursts of static electricity that struck against his metallic armor plates. I watched it ooze out of nowhere like he was pulling it in from the air around him. Oddly, being closer to Freeza didn't change how I perceived his power, it only got stronger when he pulled up more ki. 

Please excuse the pun, but Freeza literally gave me a buzz. In my skull, anyway. 

He finished calling up his energy and opened his clear red eyes. Nothing physical changed, but I felt the ki swirling around inside him. "I'll see you soon." 

"Good luck, Freeza." 

Freeza gave me a thumbs-up, flashed a quick smile and took off. He flew smoothly through the air like a crocodile swimming in water. 

And Void went flying. She smashed into the ground a good distance away and I lost sight of her in the rising dust. 

I started thinking about how Void hurt my friends. What she just did to Piccolo, especially. It stirred a well of energy in the pit of my stomach. I relaxed and let it all flow out. Warmth flooded my arms and legs, making my extremities tingle. Then came all the other cool effects - rocks, dirt and leaves flying up in the air, earthquakes...and of course my blue-white aura. I must be getting stronger, my old aura was plain white until I messed up in Vegeta's gravity room. Maybe I can actually do damage! 

I had to try. 

Taking off felt like someone strapping rocket engines to my shoes. No effort at all, but the ground didn't fare so well from my energy burst. 

Void was just rising from the where she fell. She saw me coming and made a beeline for me. And boy was she PISSED! Her aura hissed furiously like an angry cobra, now almost black in color. We were playing chicken, it seems. I didn't plan on losing. 

Her fist caught my cheek. I spat out blood. The pain made me mad! 

I spun around and, "Batter up!" smashed her square in the chest with both clasped fists. The blow sent Void slamming through three cliffsides and created a ditch in the hard ground. "HOME RUN!" I pumped my arms in the air and wiggled my legs in a victory dance, "And the Angels win the game!" 

**Ka-BOOM!** POW! 

While I was celebrating like an idiot, Void exploded up from underground. That nasty sound was her fist hitting my cheek. The next crashes were me smashing through four mountains and creating a huge ditch in the dirt. 

Damn, I only slammed her through three! That Barry Bonds wannabe! 

_Don't worry, the Angels beat the Giants for the championship.._. I told myself sullenly. 

Vegeta immediately pounced on Void from behind. She grabbed his hair. Smashed his nose on her knee. Flung him into Freeza. Freeza tried to stop Vegeta's descent, but failed. Both fell out of sight. 

Now she headed straight for me! 

Void's tail was inches from my face when... 

"**_RAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!_**" 

Piccolo exploded furiously through the rock wall, sending bits of stone flying like shrapnel. He dug his elbow deep into Void's belly. It shoved the evil creature off course with her spitting silver blood up the entire way. Piccolo continued pushing. They both veered away and dug a huge trench into the nearest mountainside. Void phased out. Piccolo blurred away. Sounds of their fight echoed all around. I felt so useless just standing there. 

So I broke off to find Freeza and Vegeta. Both were a bit bruised and bloody, but otherwise okay. Vegeta didn't speak to me at all, he was in a battle frenzy. He took off to help Piccolo with Void. 

Freeza looked a bit woozy. He sat up and puked all over the dirt. Yum, just what I needed to see after Piccolo's mutilated ankle. 

"Some plan," He grumbled, rubbing his sore shoulder. The shiny carapace was cracked, giving it a faceted look. 

"Don't worry about it, I think Piccolo and Vegeta are holding their own for the moment." I examined Freeza's wounded shoulder. "I feel like I just get in the way when I try to do anything. But if I sit here and they get killed, it's still my fault for not helping. So what should I do?" 

The Icejin tightened his delicate lips. "Try anyway. Sitting out isn't an option here. That's why I fought against Void when she killed me. I knew I was going to die, but at the time I was dying anyway." 

I smiled sadly at him, "Well, don't go doing it again, okay? At least not until you're a wrinkled old man with false teeth and kids to call you grandpa." 

"I don't plan on it," He winked one eye, also smiling. 

Piccolo shouted, "...LOOK OUT!" 

Suddenly Freeza and I were grabbed by the head. Void shoved us both into the dirt and flung us into Vegeta and Piccolo. All four of our bodies landed in an unceremonious heap. The massive impact opened a new crater in the Namekian dirt. 

Ow...I think I'm going to need a chiropractor after this is all over with.   
  


This battle is still going on, has been for hours. Every time someone beats Void down, she just comes back worse. We were running out of ideas, energy and patience. Void refused to stay down. She would dodge us when we came at her as a whole. One on one fighting was out. Void made everyone her bitch, simple as that. 

We all had blood coming from some part of our body. Bruises took up the places where the blood hadn't gotten to yet. Clothes were torn and dirty. Everybody hurt all over. Nobody had a plan, Void gave us no time to think. 

What do we do now? 

Piccolo(now sporting two feet, but only one shoe) rallied us for another quick retreat so we could regroup. Running. Always running! 

And I was tired of running away. 

"Wait! Hold up here!" I halted everybody in mid-air. They stared at me like I went insane. I didn't care, I continued, "I'm sick to death of running away like a little pussy! Instead of saving them for emergencies...we should whip out our dream catchers and kick the shit out of Void! She's already gone off to steal more dreams...I hate to say this but we should use the time to, you know...plan something with the dream catchers rather than running around, trying to figure out how to beat her up." 

They all looked like I just threw a steel chair at them. Especially Piccolo, since he was the one mostly in charge of planning everything. For a second the only sound I heard was wind and heavy breathing. Then Vegeta's face twisted into the most irate expression I've ever seen him display. 

"You STUPID GIRL! A foolish little trinket will only work for so long! The only way to beat Void is to destroy her!" 

I snapped at him, "Void _can't_ be destroyed, you idiot! She's HATE, Vegeta. You can't kill hatred!" 

"Bullshit!" The Saiyajin prince turned his nose up at me, "Anything can be beaten if you have half a brain and power." 

"Then I obviously have more brains than you do." I growled, "Look, we can pound into Void all day and she'll just come back at us even worse! Or we can try the dream catchers and see what happens." I looked from face to face. Piccolo and Freeza were nodding their heads, but Vegeta still wouldn't relent. 

"Humph!" 

"And here I thought you were a smart fighter." I got in Vegeta's face, "You're just in this to beat something up, aren't you? Well I'm sorry, but this is a team deal." 

He snorted, turning his head and crossing his arms, "This would be all over right now if Kakarott was here." 

"Well he isn't! We can't expect Goku to save our asses all the time. Now shut the hell up and let's see if this works! If not, you can have your stupid fun! Do I have to explain it any clearer for you? Or should I draw pictures and point?" 

"Don't boss me around, female!" Vegeta jabbed an accusing finger in my face, "I make my own rules!" 

"Cyndi, Vegeta..." Piccolo grabbed my arm and yanked me backwards against his chest, "That's enough! You're both acting like a couple of toddlers! Fighting over battle plans won't solve our more important problems." 

I stuck my tongue out at Vegeta. Real mature of me, eh? 

Vegeta dropped out of Super Saiyajin form, but his hair remained oddly bristled. "Feh, fine. I'll go with your pathetic little plan. But don't be too surprised if it fails." 

"Don't be so sure of yourself," Freeza finally took a dig at the arrogant Saiyajin. 

Vegeta shot Freeza a poisonous look. "Stay out of this, freak." 

"Vegeta," Piccolo hedged. He and Freeza were the only two mature ones here at the moment. "Okay Cyndi, you've got the floor. What's your plan?" 

I took a deep breath and began, "Here's what we can do..." 


	21. Part Twenty

Self-Insertion, violence and language warning. Sorry this took longer than usual. Lot of IRL stuff going on and I haven't had much time to write. I'll probably take a little longer than before for a while. Writing out fights is hard work for me :) 

Please feel free to correct me if I have Void's Japanese attack name wrong. It's supposed to translate to "exploding star". 

Another quick note: I got the album _Say You Will_ by Fleetwood Mac for my birthday. Every song on it rocks, I highly recommend you go buy it. Stevie Nicks's solos as well as the other songs all rock - unlike most albums where there's one hit and the rest suck. Everything on this CD is INTENSE! Even if you're not a fan, you'll fall in love with it! Rock at its best!   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twenty

  
  
  
  
  
  


Vegeta's complaining went on and on. "This is stupid, why are we wasting our time with these foolish arts and crafts?!" Or sometimes he said, "I should kill you for making me participate in this farce." And other times he just growled under his breath like a pouting child. Nobody paid any attention to his griping. 

"If we wanna beat Void, we should try everything." I snapped. "Come on, you can be artistic this way, too." 

"Weaving is for women!" 

"Then get in touch with your feminine side and SHUT UP!" I snapped at him. 

Freeza chuckled and held up his finished dream catcher. It was white with purple feathers and red beads. Thanks to Piccolo's ability to materialize things, we had the supplies for making dream catchers ourselves(and Piccolo now had both shoes on, he didn't take kindly to being called Cinderella). I just hoped I gave them the right instructions...a while back I saw a website explaining how to make them. They're actually simple once you learn how the weaving works. 

Piccolo said nothing, he just worked on the weaving. From time to time I'd pause and watch his graceful hands work. I thought he would have trouble - he caught on right away. Three finished dream catchers in different colors lay next to his left leg. Piccolo took a preference for dark, earthy tones. All three dream catchers were brown with black and orange striped feathers and a green bead in the center. 

Freeza liked brighter colors like purple, white, red and silver. I leaned towards pinks and blues, though sometimes I went for green or red. Vegeta just threw whatever colors he wanted together, the two sloppy objects at his side gave impressions of complete disorganization. Well, that's Vegeta for you. 

I looked up after finishing my fourth dream catcher. "The big one is going to take the most time...I just hope I have the patience to keep at it." 

"Don't worry, Cyndi." Piccolo looked up for the first time since we started. "We'll help you." 

"I know." My cheeks flushed red-hot. "But I need to take a quick break right now, just for a few minutes. Focusing too hard makes my head hurt." I stood up before anyone could protest and walked a few steps away. The wind stirred my tangled Saiyajin hair, cooling the sweat gathered on my brow. I wondered idly if my makeup was all smeared - and wouldn't be surprised if it was. Then again, I'd done the hairspray trick and that's supposed to keep makeup from running. 

God, what if this didn't work? Had Void really become too strong for even the dream catchers to hurt her? Then what? We die, that's what. I won't let that happen! 

A large hand touched my shoulder. The sudden presence made me leap a foot. 

"Relax, kid. It's just me." Piccolo's scratchy voice spoke from behind. His left hand came down on my other shoulder, both giving me a reassuring squeeze. 

I grasped Piccolo's thick wrists and leaned back against his solid seven-foot frame. His leathery skin was slick with sweat that gave him a sparkling sheen. The smooth hands slid forward, wrists criss-crossing so his palms rested on my chest. Not a sexual touch, his hands just happened to land there like they belonged. I felt Piccolo pull me a little harder against him. 

This was my safe spot. I smiled contentedly and closed my eyes. 

"What do you think of this situation, Piccolo? Be honest..." 

"Mm," the tall Namek's voice vibrated against my back. "I really don't know. We'll have to see how our plans work out before we make any judgments about the outcome. Void is a wild card, there's no telling what kind of power she really has. I've been cycling through Kami's knowledge about her. There is one thing I know of that makes her extremely dangerous." 

Blinking, I asked, "And?" 

"She can transform, just like Freeza did. But she only has two forms...and the second is worse than the first." 

I jerked my head up, "What?!" 

Piccolo nodded gravely, his face extremely serious. So serious it scared me. "There's no telling what might happen if she reaches her second form. Don't tell anybody unless you have to. I don't want Vegeta getting any ideas. I don't trust him very much because of his little stunt with Cell, even though we need his help." 

Now very much afraid, I nodded dazedly. A second form...just how nightmarish can Void get? "How much stronger is her second form?" 

"I don't know. Nobody knows." 

"Let's hope we don't ever find out." I snarled fiercely, filled with new determination to beat Void. "I wonder if I'm strong enough to stand a chance against her if the need to fight her one-on-one comes up." 

"Don't worry about that right now, kid." Piccolo disengaged from me and turned to join the others. "Don't stay too long." 

I missed his arms already, "I won't."   
  


Nearly an hour later, we had a total of twenty dream catchers in different sizes and colors. I tied them together in groups of five and tied those five between large sticks. That made four different sets. Freeza quickly flew off to set them up the way I specified(Vegeta couldn't be bothered to help with ANYTHING), while Piccolo and I started on the biggest dream catcher of all. At least ten feet in diameter, this would take a long time to complete. 

And a lot of patience, which I don't have. 

Several times I got frustrated over the slow progress. The whole process would be much easier if I had eight legs and a set of spinnerets. Or I should just go hire Spiderman for a day, he'd get this done in two seconds. But noooooo, I had to do this the hard way! 

"I wonder how long it will take Void to show up again and spoil the surprise." 

"Don't think about that. Just weave," Piccolo snapped me back on task. 

After all this complaining, I was only on the second row! 

Man, this was going to take all day!   
  


Freeza returned after a long, nerve-wracking amount of time. He took longer than expected and I feared Void had her way with him. So it's safe to say I sighed in relief when I saw him touch down lightly in the soft Namekian grass. His armored scalp gleamed brightly in the harsh sunlight. "Sorry about the delay. Had trouble setting up. Now it's all ready. All we have to do is lure Void in and we'll burn her on all sides. This has to work!" 

Piccolo smiled. I nodded my head. "Good...now let's just hope I can finish this huge one before Void gets back. Uh, where's Vegeta?" 

The small Icejin's brow knit. "He's out looking for Void. Maybe he'll delay her if she returns sooner than expected." He came over, tail twitching gently behind him, and knelt beside me. "Take a break, I'll work on this thing for a little while." 

"You sure about that?" 

"Yeah." 

I got up, both reluctant and relieved to finally have a break. My attention span is always so short, I get bored with certain tasks after so long. That makes the work even slower. 

Piccolo continued his vigil over the large construction project while I walked off, letting my mind go blank. I just couldn't focus anymore. Just one of those times where I became so bored that my mind shut down. You might think it's a good thing, but it isn't. Once my mind shuts down, it's hard to "start" again. 

The only question now was: How long did we have until Void came back?   
  


Freeza and I took to teamwork. He would weave a "spoke" into the dream catcher, hand me the string and scoot over to my other side. I did the same and the process repeated itself. Piccolo stood watch like an imposing gargoyle that overlooked our progress. Since Freeza and I couldn't watch our backs while we worked, Piccolo kept his eyes on the sky. 

"Man...every time I think we're almost done, I look and see we still have tons more to do!" I finally complained. To put it mildly, I was hot, tired, thirsty and miserable. 

Freeza cracked a smile, "But look at how much we've finished." 

"True." 

But I was very, very bored with this whole thing. The Saiyajin blood kept screaming to fight. I was going against instinct. Talk about internal conflict! Yet I was able to squish it down into a small part of my mind...you can thank Piccolo for that by taking my chocolate away. Resisting that temptation allowed me to deal with bigger ones like this. 

God, it was hard though. I'd only hang on to this aggression for so long. Which would come first? My insanity or Void? 

"Here comes Vegeta," Piccolo's voice alerted us. 

I jerked my head up and shielded my eyes against the sun. Yeah, it was the firey-haired Saiyajin prince. He was coming in at a weird angle. No, he wasn't flying! 

Vegeta crashed into the dirt near my feet, unconscious. He'd been beaten to a pulp. Blood covered his face and clothes. Bruises littered his face and one eye was blackened. Marks around his throat suggested Void choked him out and kicked him around while he was down. How low of a fighter can you be?! 

Vegeta looked strangely vulnerable laying there like that. All stretched out on his side with his blood soaking into the grass. Freeza looked down at him like a deer in headlights. He shuddered visibly. 

"Son of a bitch!" I swore. Something in my gut compressed in on itself. The power inside me bubbled up to the surface. I let it flow, making my hair sway, "That's it! Freeza, you and Piccolo work on this thing. I'm going after Void." 

Piccolo jumped forward and grabbed my shoulder. "Cyndi, wait!" 

I shook him off. "No, I'm tired of waiting! She's MINE!" 

And with that, I took off in a blaze of ki.   
  


Power. 

Aggression. 

Rage. 

Mixed together, they're dangerous. I was feeling all three. I'd become addicted to how they felt in the pit of my stomach. I didn't even think I might lose. Call me crazy, but I actually thought I could beat Void all by myself! I wanted to bring her disembodied head back to the others and toss it at their feet. 

I paused my flight, "Come on, you piece of shit! Get the hell out here and let's fight!" 

There! Up ahead! 

Void stopped in mid air, turned and faced me. Her cold silver eyes narrowed. "You!" 

I didn't give her time to think. "Yes, ME!" I flew in her face. 

She dodged! Reappeared behind me! I spun sideways, avoiding her tail. 

"Sit still!" 

I caught her tail, "Make me!" And flung her in a random direction. 

Ooh, the glory of battle. Fighting gave me the same sensation as scratching an annoying itch - satisfaction and relief. 

Suddenly a brilliant white ki blast seared into my spine. My lapse in attention gave Void the chance to attack me! I screamed in pain and lost altitude. Void swooped down. Both massive feet smashed against me, sending me slamming into the ground. Oww, did anybody get the number of that bus? 

"You're not even a challenge, little girl." She pressed her foot against the back of my head and rubbed my face in the dirt. Ooh, that was the wrong thing to do! 

As soon as I could escape, I checked my reflection in the water nearby. Dammit! 

Normally I'm not so vain...but when I have makeup on, I want it perfect. So I didn't like what I saw reflected back at me from the water's surface. The Alice Cooper look is NOT me at all. I looked like a crack addict! 

"...You...you smeared my eyeliner!" I threw myself at Void again in a flurry of punches and kicks. "YOU BITCH! YOU ARE SO DEAD FOR THAT!!" 

"What the?!" The large black monster blocked what I threw. All except for the right jab and the uppercut. 

Now get this - Void is almost five feet taller than I am and my tiny little fist sent her flying. David and Goliath in drag! 

Void righted herself in mid air. Blackish-silver blood oozed from a slash under her left eye, created by one of my many rings. She touched the wound and growled at me, "You...you cut me! My beautiful face!" 

"Beautiful? Hah! Your face reminds me of a mole on some old lady's wrinkled ass!" 

"What?!" 

"You heard me! Ass-mole!" 

"Grr!" 

Seems Void didn't like my new name for her. She started powering up. 

And so did I. 

Together, our auras caused quite a stir. Mine rippled the ocean. Hers blew clouds away. Static energy shot between us. It was a race to see who would power up first. 

I felt my energy gush to the surface. It tingled every inch of me, from between my teeth to the tips of my toenails. Then it just got extremely warm. I was so close to that bright sphere I saw in another dream. Yet it kept dangling beyond my reach. I strained for that power...and still didn't quite get there. But I was sooooo close. 

In a climactic display, I screamed and all the energy I'd gathered flared out like a blinding shockwave. Void's guttural cry erupted simultaneously with mine. Our auras clashed, creating an intense lightning storm and digging a huge crater in the ground. The sky looked similar to the way it did right after Freeza dissolved the planet's core. Only this storm didn't last. 

We stared each other down amidst the lightning. Void's features became more frightening when illuminated from one direction at a time. The glow in her small carapace became more pronounced. 

This was the first time I'd ever been completely powered up before. All my muscles were tight and harder than bricks. I felt like I had my hand glued to one of those electric balls that make your hair stand up. Heck, I WAS that ball! Complete with little blue bolts of energy zapping over my aura! 

Void's aura seemed darker, a dull silver-white. Fitting, considering her appearance. 

"What you did to Vegeta was low, Void," I growled, "I mean, kicking someone while they're down and can't fight back. Maybe I should, you know, do it to you and see how you like it..." I made a fist and held it up, "except I'll make sure it hurts ten times worse." 

She snickered, folding her arms, "I'd like to see you try." 

"Wait and see!" I arranged myself in a stance. And hesitated, _Piccolo, can you hear me?_

_I hear you,_ Piccolo's 'voice' was faint. Probably because of the distance. _Are you engaging Void?_

_No, I'm painting my nails!_ I sneered and went on,_ Just tell me this, how long until the big dream catcher is done, and how is Vegeta?_

Void twitched. I just hoped she would hold off another second. I couldn't fight and talk telepathically like the others could. Luckily, she chose to beef up her aura some more, taunting me. 

_It's almost finished, Cyndi, and Vegeta's coming around. He got his bell rung, but he's okay. He'll probably join you soon._ Piccolo replied calmly, _Be careful._

_I'm always careful!_ I smirked to myself, _Love ya, big guy._ Then I broke off the link, coming back to full attention. "Okay, Ass-mole, let's rumble." 

"Gladly." Void shot forward. Sucker punch! 

Spit and blood went flying. The blow came so suddenly that I spun completely around. SMACK! And hit the ground. My eyesight swam. But I had just enough sense to cover my face to block the next punch. She came at me fast and furious, I hate being stuck on the defensive! 

So I used my tiny size. Flew down between her legs and spin-kicked her from behind. Nailed the back of her neck! She hit the dirt hard. Void grabbed my foot. I booted her in the face with my free leg. She didn't let go. Instead she yanked my leg out from under me! The world turned topsy-turvy and I found myself flat on my back. 

Fwapp! 

Void's tail was at my neck! The stinger's tip gleamed dangerously I reached up and grabbed the fleshy part, squeezing it like I was strangling her. My hands barely made it all the way around. But it was easy to squeeze. 

Good thing I did, I felt a heavy build-up. Acid! 

Now I was in quite a predicament. If I stopped squeezing Void's tail, she'd burn my neck away. If I stopped pushing up, she'd impale my voicebox. Neither sounded pleasant. 

We must've struggled like that for a full minute. And Void almost impaled me. Her dangerous silver stinger lowered to press against my throat. Denting the skin. I strained harder, baring my teeth with the effort. My arms were getting tired! Finally I rolled sideways and let go. Void's tail impaled the grass. I watched the ground melt as the backed-up acid shot out into the dirt. 

So I stomped on Void's tail while it was trapped. 

"ARGH! You little brat!" She palmed my head and threw me aside. 

I skidded hard across the dirt. At this point fatigue was starting to take over. I never did have the same endurance the others had. I became sorely tempted to nail her with my dream catcher...but that would give away the plan. No, this had to be all fists and piss. Maybe, maybe if I keep at it, I'll get Void all tired too. 

I thought about you, Believers. That made me stronger. 

Climbing to my feet, I took a deep breath and faced Void again. She was still bent over her tail. Very open for an attack. 

I flew at Void. She righted herself just in time. Kicked me square in the boobs. White-hot stinging pain shot through my chest. I rolled backwards and clutched my wounded breasts, gasping for breath. That hurt like HELL! Almost as bad as being kicked in the crotch! 

Void elbowed me in the back while I was doubled over. I hit the dirt so hard I sunk in. She pulled me out by the hair. Her tail came at me. I pushed off her chest just enough to lessen the blow - it glanced off my left shoulder. I bled like a stuck pig, but I could still use the arm. 

She lifted me to eye-level and grinned, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself now?" 

I glared at her cruel eyes, "Not much, Ass-mole." 

Void's ugly visage twisted. She kneed my gut, brought my face down onto her knee and tossed me down again. I choked on my own blood and checked my nose. It wasn't bleeding. Yet, anyway. Boy am I glad I don't have a big, pointy nose like Piccolo. It must suck for him whenever he gets nailed there. 

And still, I got back up. "Heh, that tickled. Come on, where's the pain?" 

"Oh, it's coming. I promise." 

The tall, hideous creature brought her hands together in front of her chest. She brought them apart, revealing a ball of energy as bright as a welder's torch. It hurt my eyes, I had to avert my gaze. Dammit! Why did she have to blow up my sunglasses?! 

"I've been working on this little move for a while. So please excuse me if it's a little messy." Void smiled coyly at me. Her eyes gleamed brightly in the growing energy. "It's called...." She held her hand up as if to blow me a kiss. The tiny, painfully bright sphere rolled off and floated towards me, giving off so much heat it made the air ripple. "_Bakeretsuhoshi._" 

My eyes gradually adjusted to the luminous little orb. It would blind a human. But I just discovered Saiyajin eyes aren't so easily damaged by bright light. It did leave a nasty dark spot in my vision, though. 

The little sphere stopped in front of me. Nothing else happened. It just floated there! 

I balked at her, "What the hell is this? A joke?!" 

"Yes it is, and here's the punchline!" Void spread her arms open wide, then clasped her hands together above her head. The little sphere suddenly inflated like Freeza's deathball and exploded in my face! 

"AAH!" I closed my eyes and shot straight up. Just in time. Below me, a brilliant white dome decimated the entire island Void and I were fighting on. Tsunami waves swelled like gigantic ripples in a pond. New water rushed in to replace the empty space. A huge water-plume rose up, soaking me with the spray. 

My heart thudded hard against my sternum. Holy shit, that would've done me in if I hadn't moved in time! How was I supposed to fight THAT?! 

_Piccolo, tell them to hurry the hell up. Void has a new attack that just blew up an island!_ I screamed mentally. _I'm serious, this really sucks!_

_I know, I saw it from here. We barely got a ki shield up in time to avoid the tidal wave._ Piccolo's calm reply answered, _Don't worry, Vegeta's on his way._

_Good._ Relief flooded through my system. Void is just too tough to fight one-on-one. I have what...two or three strong attacks? God only knows how many Void has! 

_Cyndi, head for the bluff behind Freeza's ship! The trap is set in it's shadow._ Piccolo cut in, startling me. _Go make sure everything is set up like you wanted. Vegeta will deal with Void, he's all hot and bothered. I'll give him the 'okay' to lure her there once you let me know how everything is. Freeza is ALMOST done with the big one_. 

_Great!_ I smiled triumphantly. 

Now all I had to do was figure out where Void was... 

SMACK! 

...nevermind. 

I belly flopped painfully into the choppy water. The salt in it stung my eyes and tongue. I struggled to the surface and gasped for air. 

Void crashed into the water on top of me. I hadn't inhaled yet, so I submerged with empty lungs. She was pushing me down deeper! Way deeper underwater than I've ever been! I might implode! 

I struggled wildly. My lungs burned. Black spots danced before my eyes. My chest caved in. I clenched my throat shut, afraid I'd inhale involuntarily if I didn't get out of there soon. But Void had my arms pinned at my sides, there was nothing I could do. 

Except rely on the energy surging through my body. 

Desperation produced a huge, white ki shockwave that flung Void away. I struggled towards the shimmering surface Every muscle in my body - especially my chest - burned. I wanted to stop and rest, the lack of oxygen was making me sleepy. No, swim, dammit! Inhaling water would hurt worse than sore muscles! I swear, not being able to inhale is worse than holding your breath. 

I surfaced with a gaping mouth. Sucking in blessed lungfuls of oxygen. My vision cleared as much as salt-stinging eyes would allow. I shook the water from my face, coughing. So much for my makeup now. 

An inkling told me to haul ass. I shot above the water just in time. Void exploded from the surface. She narrowly missed grabbing my feet! 

I saw a light in the sky ahead. Vegeta's power vibrations rippled across my skull. God, I was never more glad to see him than I was then. 

After all that, all Vegeta said to me was, "You, go take care of business. I'll handle Void." 

"Right," I didn't feel like getting in a pissing contest with him. 

I glanced back at Vegeta before I flew away. He looked pretty bruised up, but his cuts were tended to so they didn't bleed anymore. I probably looked as messed up as him, if not worse. Void did a pretty good number on me. 

"Be careful, Vegeta!" 

"GO!" 

I went. Fast.   
  


Freeza's ship loomed like a giant crab-monster on the island below me. Quite a display of technology, a ship like that must take years to build. Too bad I didn't have time to admire it more closely. I had a job to do. I flew swiftly behind Freeza's ship where the shadow fell and landed clumsily on the grass. Thank God flying fast dried me off, I was getting cold! 

Piccolo said I'd see grass and tree branches piled up in four places with a rock off to the side. There it was. I walked forward and lifted a branch. Five dream catchers, the largest in the center, were tied between two branches, which had been bound together at the bottom while the dream catchers held them together at the top. Fishing wire extended from the top of all four sets of dream catchers. The four strands came together in the center, tied expertly in a knot. More branches were laid across the wires to maximize the contact. From the air it just looked like a dying bush shedding its leaves. 

Now the trick was getting Void to land on it and trip the trap. If everything worked...well let's just see what happens. 

And just in case it failed, one line of string was tied to the little rock over there. All I had to do was pick it up and pull. 

_Piccolo, it's all set._

_Okay, kid._ There was a long pause, _Vegeta's on his way. Take cover under the ship._

_Right._ I couldn't avoid the smile spreading on my face. We were going to win this one! 

Scrambling under the ship, I kept my hand near the small stone. Now all I had to do was wait for Vegeta to show up with Void hot on his ass.   
  


Waiting became agony. A fight was going on and I couldn't participate! I felt exactly like I did in high school - left out. Nobody wanted me on their teams for anything. Too bad I wasn't a Saiyajin at the time. I would've won at everything like a lame Mary Sue. Heh. Waiting...I hate to wait! 

After forever and a day passed, I saw two sparkles far in the distance. Vegeta and Void. I crab-scooted behind the big metal leg of Freeza's ship, making sure I kept the emergency cord within reach. 

Piccolo's reassuring voice entered my head, _They should be right there. Sit tight, kid, the big one's done. Freeza and I are going to fly in and nail Void while she's down._

"Boy I hope so..." I mumbled to myself. 

I must've spaced out for a few seconds, because the next thing I knew, Vegeta was landing with Void right on his heels. He came down about three feet from the trap. 

And Void landed right on top of it. 

The four flaps whipped up like the metal part of a mouse trap. From my vantage point I couldn't see the effect, but I heard Void scream bloody murder. My nose detected burning flesh. I saw bits of silvery blood dribble on the ground right near where I was hiding. 

"You don't feel so big now, do you?" Vegeta taunted the wounded creature. 

I wormed out of my hiding place, stood up and surveyed the scene. Void looked like she'd been branded by a farmer. Smoking burns littered her arms, stomach and sides. Her face showed pain and anguish. I actually felt sorry for her...for about two seconds anyway. 

"Well, Void, how do you like being the one crying out in pain?" 

Void spun. Burning herself more in the process. "You!" 

The moment Void's back was turned, Vegeta launched himself at her. It happened so fast that all I saw was a streak. Void went facedown in the dirt. She climbed to her feet and leapt into the air. I got a sick satisfaction at the smell of fear vibrating through her blood. We had her scared! 

A mildly effeminate voice exploded, "Incoming!" 

Movement! I glanced up. 

Freeza and Piccolo swooped down. Between them was the giant dream catcher, all finished. They looped out of the sky, two living fighter jets in formation. Poor Void. She dove back to the ground. Only to have Piccolo and Freeza come on top of her with the giant woven monstrosity. 

More pained screaming and sizzling noises. More burning flesh. More pain. A living thing was literally being barbecued. I had to turn away and cover my ears. I couldn't stand to watch. 

Void's anguished cries cut off. Profound silence settled over the area. Nobody moved for quite some time. 

"That was anti-climactic," Vegeta finally scoffed. He appeared disappointed. 

I forced myself to turn around. Void remained inert, the dream catcher having been moved off her body. New silver burns marked her otherwise smooth, armored skin. Film dulled her cruel silver eyes and her mouth hung open. Even the moving "reflection" patterns on her armored hide were frozen in mid-swish. 

Piccolo nudged Void with his toe. She didn't move, but Piccolo's shoe got splattered with black ooze and silver blood. The Namek wrinkled his nose and shook it off on the grass. 

I walked over and looked down at Void. She didn't seem to be breathing. I couldn't sense a power level from her. "She...she's dead!" 

Freeza glanced at Void and shivered violently in disgust. Then he smiled, his pale face bright and relieved, "It's really over..." 

Vegeta said nothing. Typical. 

"C'mon, let's get out of here," said Freeza, "Nothing left to see." 

"Yeah," I faced them, grinning. "Let's - " Everybody was staring at me with horrified expressions. I blinked, "hey, what's wrong?" 

"I am." A hand locked around my ankle and yanked me off my feet. I screamed, kicked free and scrambled to the others just as Void's laughter reached my ears. 

Though badly burned all over, Void lumbered to her feet. Favoring one leg and arm. She still managed to cackle madly. "You thought you'd won. You almost did. But I'm finished playing with you pathetic little morons. Watch closely, I'm about to show you what _real_ nightmares are made of!" Huge, beetle-like mandibles sprouted on either side of her mouth. Three feet of armored Hell gleaming in silver slime. Void raised her hands. Two more arms, these ending in pinchers, exploded into being. Then she laughed and disappeared in a cocoon of lightning, black fog and silver light. Her power surge stirred the environment like a violent tornado. 

"No!" Piccolo stared wide-eyed, "Everybody, get back! She's transforming!" 


	22. Part TwentyOne

Self-Insertion, violence and language warning. Sorry I keep taking so long >_ I'm trying to fight off writer's block. 

Hey Jesscheaux, sorry that I said Kuwabara was annoying in my other fic. He's cute, but his dub voice is just weird to me. :P   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twenty-One

  
  
  
  
  


"No!" Piccolo stared wide-eyed, "Everybody get back! She's transforming!" 

Freeza and Vegeta jumped away from the surging power. I just stood there frozen in terror like a deer in headlights. Lightning from Void's power chrysalis tore at the grass around me. Sparks flew. Dirt exploded upwards. I swear I actually forgot how to move, lost all recollection of what ki was and didn't recognize who the three people with me were. 

Piccolo cartwheeled over an electrical discharge, did the splits to duck another and handspringed towards me through a shower of sparks. Each move put Olympic gymnasts to shame. He grabbed my arm and hauled me roughly backwards behind a large boulder. Less than a second after we moved, a bolt struck the ground where I stood. It created a crater. I would've been incinerated! 

"...no...I can't do this anymore!" I cried out, "This is too much! Get me out!" 

"Cyndi." 

I was out of it. Panicked. Freaking out. "It's too much for me! I'm scared! I can't do this anymore! Make it stop!" 

"CYNDI!" Piccolo shook me hard. "Look at me." When I didn't, he grabbed my chin between thumb and forefinger and turned my face towards him, "LOOK AT ME!" Flashes illuminated his handsome green face from various angles. 

I stopped blubbering. Piccolo's face came into focus. "P-Piccolo..." 

He spoke calmly, "Don't lose your focus. I know this is frightening to you, but the only way to make it stop is to beat Void." 

But I was too scared to really listen to him. God, I am such a coward! When I'm winning, I'm as arrogant as can be. When I'm losing, I cower like a baby and doubt everything about myself. Some hero I turned out ot be. 

I struggled to get away from Piccolo. He pinned me against the rock in a manner that might have given the other two a very wrong idea. "Kid, I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't think you could do this. Come on. It's okay to be afraid, any fighter who doesn't feel fear is a fool." 

Vegeta scoffed at that statement. 

Piccolo just gave him a glare and returned his attention to me. He showed a reassuring smile, "You've come a long way. Now take some slow, deep breaths and think of something peaceful. Don't focus on it though, or you might change the dreamscape. Just imagine it long enough to calm down. It'll be okay. Breathe like this," He showed me the way he wanted me to breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. His warm breath felt nice against my forehead. Until then I didn't realize I was panting with my mouth open. 

I didn't need to think of something calm. That calming force was right there in front of me. I lifted myself up a little and pressed my ear against Piccolo's strong chest, listening to his heartbeat. 

Poor Freeza, he looked as terrified as I felt. And he didn't have anybody to offer him any comfort. As much as I enjoyed being crushed between Piccolo's sexy body and a hard rock, I got the feeling Freeza needed someone to stand near him. 

Piccolo understood my silent need before I spoke it. "Go take care of him. I'll keep Vegeta out of trouble." 

"Right..." 

Vegeta glared at us. The wind was really whipping his hair around, "I am not some child you can dote over!" 

"Then quit acting like it." I snapped at him on my way past. 

Freeza _was_ frozen in terror. The armor on his shoulder felt like ice against my palm. "Hey, it's okay." 

The pale figure faced me. He looked paler than usual, if such a thing was possible. His red eyes were pinpoints and his whole body trembled like a leaf. Despite this, Freeza somehow kept his flawless face perfectly emotionless. He was better at hiding his fear than I am. 

"Hey," I looped an arm around his shoulders and leaned on him a little. I'm not sure if it was fear or something else that made his skin feel like ice. Freeza's flesh had a different texture than Piccolo's. Kind of rubbery and smooth. "We're gonna beat the shit out of Void. If Piccolo says we can do it, I believe him. Even if it scares me to death." 

Freeza grasped my hand and closed his eyes. "It's not that I'm afraid of her...it's just..." He looked at me with tears streaming down his face, "While she was gone, she got Cathy and Alexis. Vegeta told me he saw her suck them up like Cell did to people on Earth. So they're in Void now...probably screaming for help...and I can't reach them!" 

Void took the two greatest loves of Freeza's life away. I boiled with anger while I let Freeza try to control himself. It wasn't hard to tell he was fighting against his tears. 

"Then we all have reasons to go after her. She has Father Jim, too, and probably a lot of people I care about. I try not to sense them or I'll get too upset." I squeezed Freeza's shoulder again. 

Suddenly a huge electric discharge ripped into the boulder shielding us. The explosion sent debris everywhere. I covered my eyes and hoped everybody else avoided injury. When I took my hands down again, I saw nothing but the energy cocoon surrounding Void. It swirled madly like a tornado. Sometimes a flash of lightning would create silhouettes of Void's changing body. Too brief for me to really pick out details or be sure of anything I saw. All I know is it scared me more! 

The whirlwind also made a weird sound...kind of like distant screeching metal mixed with a freight train. Anything that strayed too close got sucked into the vortex. The constant lightning seemed like a protective shield, zapping whatever stood nearby. 

Something weird was... 

I spun around, my long hair whipping around my body. "Guys! It's growing! We have to move!" 

"Don't be foolish! It's not - " Vegeta glanced again at the swirl. It inched closer. He raised a brow at it, "Humph!" and took to the air. 

Freeza made himself scarce in a hurry, he wasn't taking any chances. I don't blame the guy either, he's been through Hell because of Void. 

"Cyndi, c'mon." Piccolo levitated himself in preparation for a quick getaway. The intense winds blew his antennae flat against his scalp and forced him to narrow his eyes. 

The ground split open and half the part I was standing on sank, nearly taking my right foot with it. I cast a last glance towards Void's swirling 'cocoon' and hurried up to join the others. As it turned out, my tiny weight proved a hindrance in the air. I was being dragged towards the tornado! No matter how hard I fought it, I couldn't pull away. I was wasting my energy! 

Piccolo dropped and looped a strong arm around my waist. Pulled me up against him and joined Freeza and Vegeta in the air. 

"Auntie Em! Auntie Em!" I mock-screamed. 

Piccolo glanced at me, "Who?" 

"Nevermind...it's from a movie called The Wizard of Oz." 

He promptly sweatdropped and turned his gaze back onto the vortex. I did as well, wondering what Void's new form will look like. Morbid curiosity kept me wonder. The other half of me didn't want to know. 

Suddenly Freeza's ship scooted forward, elevated and flipped over. It crashed to the ground in a deafening screech of metal and glass. A huge ship half the size of a football stadium - and Void's power tornado flipped it over like a toy! Metal, glass and other debris I can't identify were dragged into the violent swirl. 

The massive space vessel slowly broke apart under the fury of the tornado. One piece at a time, it became part of the swirling mass. 

And then, all at once, it stopped. All the wind, lightning and earthquakes...it all came to a sudden halt. The black mist shrouding the area sank to the ground and oozed away without a sound. Everybody around me leaned forward. We expected Void would jump out at us in her new form. 

Wrong! 

Instead, a chrysalis of twisted metal ship-parts, dirt and grass floated like plastic easter egg in a bowl of water. What's going to come out of there? A Borg butterfly? 

How much weirder is this gonna get before I go insane? 

"She made a cocoon out of the environment." Vegeta commented. He looked over at the rest of us and smirked, cocking an eyebrow, "I wouldn't be surprised if she's too afraid to come out and fight me." 

I plucked a dirt clod from my hair and threw it at Vegeta's big head. "Get over yourself!" 

The dirt ball missed its mark, instead hitting the Saiyajin's chest and shattering. He didn't even notice the impact. 

"Does anybody here have something sharp? Someone needs their ego deflated." 

"Cyndi," Piccolo's low tone said 'shut up'. He took his arm away from my waist, letting me float on my own power. "This isn't the time to act childish. You and Vegeta can have it out later, but not here. While you two were bickering I felt a spike in Void's power. She'll appear soon." 

"I'm so not looking forward to this," muttered Freeza sullenly. 

"I don't think any of us are." Piccolo commented, his antennae standing on end. He didn't take his eyes off the odd cocoon. "Except maybe Vegeta." 

"Humph!" 

I finally piped up, "C'mon, let's all land or something. I doubt there's gonna be any more earthquakes. Besides..." 

They all looked at me. 

"...uh, I have to pee." 

Everybody turned upside-down in a mid-air facevault. 

Freeza was the first to recover himself. He scratched his head, looking at me, "Well, now that we think about it...we should all take a break." 

"Fine, regroup as soon as you're done." Piccolo added. 

"Okay then. I'm going behind the rock over by the water where there's privacy." 

Down we went to handle our business.   
  


An hour went by and the ten-foot-tall cocoon didn't move. Not even to bob up and down in the air. Maybe we did beat Void! Maybe that cocoon was her way of surrendering! Maybe there wouldn't BE a final fight! I bounded over to Piccolo and whispered my thought into his ear. He glared at me with a sneer that said 'get serious!'. 

Vegeta gawked at me like I was stupid. He came over with his arms crossed over his chest, "I say we blast the damn thing. We've been standing here forever and has it done anything other than sit there." 

Freeza stopped examining a scrape on his tail and looked up, "Maybe we should...I say we give it a go." 

Piccolo had no comment. I simply gave them a nod. 

"Very well then." Vegeta faced the weird chrysalis and powered up. His black hair wavered, sparkled and turned bright gold. The characteristic Super Saiyajin aura appeared around his short frame. 

Freeza's power-up wasn't as fantastic, but I liked it better since it seemed more "sneaky". It took him a while before he showed off a bright white aura that spit occasional bolts of electricity. 

I watched Vegeta and Freeza approach Void's protective cocoon, each taking up a position at right angles. Just in case the attacks penetrated. Their combined powers gave my head an unpleasant buzz. I grabbed my ears and tried to ignore the sensation when it reached my teeth. 

Beside me, Piccolo shifted uneasily. "I have a bad feeling about this." 

I don't like it when Piccolo says he has a bad feeling about something. Because ninety-nine percent of the time he's right. 

Vegeta and Freeza were almost ready. They widened their stances. Ki energy crackled fiercely around their bodies. Their muscles bulged. 

"Final Flash!" 

Vegeta's scream drowned out Freeza's. Next thing I knew the whole area blazed white hot. The shockwave slammed me into Piccolo's legs. He lost his balance and fell onto his butt. 

Two explosions lit the area anew, blinding everyone. This was utterly frustrating, I couldn't see ANYTHING! 

"Dammit, what the HELL!?" 

"The cocoon absorbed their attacks and threw it back at them! With twice the energy!" Piccolo shouted over the noise, "I can't tell if they're still alive or not!" 

I glared at him, "We can't just sit here!" 

Another shockwave blasted us. Then another. And another. Each one made a deafening sound like a thousand AK-47 rifles shooting in unison. Being pummeled with a battering ram would've been less painful. 

I was sliding backwards! Piccolo rolled over to pin me down before the intense wind flung me away. I'm so short that I fit completely underneath him. But having his weight crushing down on my back wasn't very comfortable. And even with him holding me down, the waves still scooted us back an inch each time. 

Picking my head up, I tried to look around. 

"Keep your head down." 

"What?" 

"I said KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!" A large hand shoved my head roughly back down against the dirt. I winced as a pebble dug into my cheek. 

Piccolo's heart throbbed like a jackhammer against my shoulderblades. Until then I didn't realize he was probably scared out of his mind, but that cool iron control kept everything hidden. Maybe that fear thing he mentioned earlier is true after all. 

"I think it stopped..." 

Smoke shrouded everything from view. Vegeta came limping into sight, filthy and clutching his stomach. He was dragging Freeza's unconscious form by the tail like a dead deer he just shot. Freeza looked even worse than Vegeta. I couldn't even begin to count the scrapes, bruises and cuts littering his pale white body. 

Vegeta tossed Freeza down in front of us. I scooted out from under Piccolo and caught the little Icejin before his head smashed against a rock. He was still breathing. 

While Piccolo discussed what happened with Vegeta, I worked on bringing Freeza around. 

"Freeza?" I patted his cheek, "Come on, wake up. Can you hear me? Open your eyes, Freeza. Come on now." 

Freeza's eyelids fluttered. He moved his limbs a little. Moaned weakly. Coughed. Tried to push my hand away from his bruised face. Not much of a response, but at least it was something. Waking up instantly alert after a hit like that is something that only happens in the movies anyway. 

No time to mess around. I dug my fingers against the bruise Freeza pushed my hand away from. Hoping the sudden pain would rouse him completely. 

"Mm, stop it!" He snapped, drowning out Piccolo and Vegeta's mumbling. I finally saw his eyes drift open. They looked watery, but otherwise normal. 

"Sorry, I had to do it to wake you up." I held up two fingers and moved my hand back and forth, "How many fingers do you see?" 

Freeza's red eyes drifted to my hand, following its motion. "Two." 

I patted his metallic shoulder, "Heh, you're okay." 

"I have a headache, but I'll live." Freeza offered me a half-smile. He let me help him up into a standing position, where he stood a tantalizing two inches taller than I. "Did I miss anything big?" 

I stole a glance over towards Piccolo and Vegeta. Both stood with their arms folded and frowns wrinkling their foreheads. Piccolo's expression was dead serious, his neck inclined forward slightly. Vegeta looked just as intense. When those two talk serious and don't trade insults, it's a baaaaad situation. I didn't hear everything, but I picked up Piccolo's voice saying, "I'll explain it in a way she can understand." Then Vegeta nodded to him and Piccolo left him alone to draw his own conclusions about whatever they discussed. 

"It would appear that Void's cocoon is surrounded by an invisible energy barrier," Piccolo began. I didn't look at him, but nodded to show I was listening. He went on, "Except it seems to absorb attacks, add its own energy and release massive shockwaves. Each consecutive wave is weaker...like ripples on a pond. The stronger the attack, the more waves you'll see. So..." I heard him sigh, "We have to play the waiting game. Do you understand?" 

Shockwaves. Energy. Reflecting back much stronger. The important parts stuck in my brain. I sat down in the grass and picked a piece of dirt off Piccolo's shoe. His toes flexed under the soft, rawhide material. I smirked and said, "Yeah, I think so. This sucks. Every time we get close to winning, Void pulls something else out of her ass." I looked up. From the ground, Piccolo seemed like a living mountain. "We're the good guys, aren't we supposed to win?" 

A deep, rich chuckle rumbled in Piccolo's chest. He gazed waaaaaay down at me, his expression amused, "Tch, yeah. Too bad life doesn't always work out that way, huh?" 

"Hm, yeah." 

The ground underneath me rumbled. Piccolo noticed my startled expression. I'd just opened my mouth to speak when the dirt right in front of me bulged upwards. Out popped a six-inch long black...thing. It was the same shape as a piece of dough someone rolled between their hands. It slithered forward and immediately attached to my hand like a slimy black booger. I got woozy right away. 

"Gah, what the hell is that thing?!" I screamed. 

"Don't let it touch you, it's draining your energy!" Piccolo lunged down and swiped the worm away. He had to shake his hand hard to make it let go. A dozen more slithered up through the hole in the ground like a swarm of ants. They didn't seem to have heads, tails, eyes, mouths or legs. How the heck did these things know which way to go? 

I got up and floated off the ground. The damn things started jumping like fleas! "I think they're attracted to our ki!" 

Piccolo wrinkled his pointed nose. His pointed tongue darted out and swiped across his lips, moistening them. "We can't power down. It would take too much energy to power up again. We need - " he tore off another worm when it attached to his arm. One squeeze made the thing pop and drip silver ooze. "...all the power we can manage." Suddenly he stiffened and yanked his shirt right off, flinging it aside. Another worm crawled out when the discarded garment hit the ground. 

Vegeta and Freeza also let out little yelps. I looked over. They were swatting, shaking and kicking at a giant swarm of little worms. Finally they took off as well, joining Piccolo and I in the air. 

"What in the world is she doing? Is THIS Void's new form?" 

I balked, "Shut up, Vegeta, I think she'd make a bigger entrance than this!" 

"Look!" Freeza pointed to the swarm below, his eyes huge. 

They were...combining? Yes, they were! I watched four of the little bastards congeal like the T-1000 in the second Terminator movie. Pretty soon, three masses of four-foot-long worms twitched on the ground below us. 

One bounced up behind Vegeta and snapped shut around him. Pinning his arms to his sides. Vegeta released a surprised, guttural cry. He kicked his legs, but couldn't get free. The worm dragged the snarling Saiyajin prince all the way back to the ground. I saw his aura snap into being. Two other worms squirmed over to siphon off his energy. The aura instantly shrank. 

"Vegeta!" I screamed, "Don't power up!" 

Piccolo's muscles tensed. Without his shirt I could see the tension ripple through his upper body. I had to swallow so I wouldn't drool. Then he looked at me. Those liquid black eyes, deceivingly calm, bore into mine like dark daggers, "Go at them with brute force only. No ki blasts. Try not to stay in contact for too long." He looked at Freeza, "Same for you. Everybody, watch each others' backs, these things like to sneak up on you." 

"Right, I got it." 

Freeza dove down, "Let's go!" 

Piccolo swooped towards Vegeta. He ripped all three worms right off and helped the Saiyajin prince back to his feet. 

Freeza kicked one so hard it exploded - all over me! It was like being doused in silver Jell-O. Wet strings dribbled off my hair and seeped into my clothes. GROSS! 

"FREEZA!" I screamed, mortified, "What if this never washes off?!" 

"Heh, sorry." He smashed another one with his tail. Didn't even turn around to do it. "Look out behind you!" 

I ducked. The worm flew over my back, landing near my feet with a wet splatting sound. I stomped the squirming creature as hard as I could. The darn thing exploded like an oversized ketchup packet. 

All over Freeza. 

The little Icejin froze, the silver slime oozing down his face and onto his chest. I saw more running off his stomach, dripping down his legs. He wiped a huge glob off his face and opened his eyes. Nasty strings of goo hung off his fingertips. His black lips curled. He looked at me again, "Ew..." 

"Revenge sucks, doesn't it?" 

He wiped it off on me! "Mmhmm." 

"Hey!" 

Piccolo snarled, "QUIT PLAYING!" 

Another worm appeared from nowhere. Its slimy body wrapped around me like a rubber tire! Sleepiness came over me almost immediately. "EW! GET IT OFF!" 

Something large dropped behind me. Powerful hands ripped through the worm the way scissors cut paper. I collapsed to my knees, recovering. 

"This is not a time to play." Piccolo scolded me, "Now get up and help us beat these things." 

"Right....behind you!" I pointed. 

He jerked around right as a large worm wrapped around his leg. I pounced on it, wrenched it from is ankle and flung it away. Piccolo caught one before it could attach to my hair. 

Vegeta made himself into a whirlwind of death, using his fists and feet to destroy anything within reach. I only caught glimpses of Freeza jumping around in the fray. It was all chaos! Utter, complete chaos! 

And the battle went on like that for quite some time. People getting grabbed, cut loose and grabbed again. Vegeta kept on cussing us out every time somebody splattered silver goo on him. The stupid worms kept coming! We were all dancing around, kicking, punching, elbow-dropping and stomping. Everybody got slimed. It was gross as hell and I never want to go through it ever again. 

One hour and a million or so worms later, Piccolo, Vegeta, Freeza and myself collapsed onto the ground. Tired, slimed and grumpy. Stupid worms, they did their job of draining our energy. Nobody wanted to move. 

"This isn't good. We're all drained," groaned Piccolo, "We must stay still and wait for our power to recharge. That includes you, Cyndi." He looked my way, "Don't even talk." 

Great. I couldn't think because it would mess with the dream. I couldn't talk. I couldn't move. Argh! Sitting still is torture to me, I just can't do it for long. I stared up at the sky, concentrating on the sounds of breathing around me. 

Something didn't feel right. Ignoring it didn't work, my mind kept retreating right back to it. Once my mind zeroes in on a problem, I can't think about anything else. 

Scooting over next to Piccolo, I closed my eyes and concentrated, _Piccolo...Void's cocoon moved. It's not in the same spot and I don't know where it went._

_I know, kid. It moved while we were dealing with the worms. Look at the mountain behind your head._

I did as Piccolo said, twisting my head around to look. The unnatural chrysalis protruded from the mountainside like an abstract sculpture. Sunlight glinted off the metallic parts. It seemed alive, menacing and aware of our presence. I got the ugliest feeling that it knew what we were thinking and planning. I didn't like it. 

_That's not good. It makes me feel...uneasy._ I settled down behind Piccolo and placed my tiny hands on the base of his thick neck. The tense muscles under his burning skin felt like bricks. I started kneading them like dough. 

Piccolo startled at the sudden presence of my hands. He hissed through his teeth, emitted a half-grunted sigh and sat up straighter. When I saw his face I knew the harsh sounds indicated pleasure. He let me give him a full backrub. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy rubbing my hands all over his leathery, textured Namekian flesh. Piccolo kept making little noises in the back of his throat that sounded a lot like when he... I shook my head to remove it from the gutter. 

Cool hands placed themselves on my shoulders and went to work. I blinked and looked over my shoulder. Freeza's calm gaze met mine. He smirked, "You look like you need one too, and I am King when it comes to rubbing peoples' backs." 

I giggled and went right back to rubbing Piccolo's back while Freeza rubbed mine. How funny we must've looked, all three of us massaging each other. Vegeta eyed us like we were insane. His forehead wrinkled. He huffed rudely, turned away and glared at the cocoon jutting from the mountain. 

"Hey Vegeta, want me to rub your back?" I called. 

"No. Keep your grubby hands off me!" He flexed his right bicep and glanced over his shoulder with a grin. "Unlike you weaklings, my muscles never cramp." I almost expected Vegeta to kiss his own bicep like Big Papa Pump from the WWE. But he didn't. He just faced forward again and resumed his cold stare at Void's chrysalis. 

Piccolo jerked his head up, antennae standing on end. The same type of motion my cats make when they hear something. He shrugged my hands off his shoulders and stood, his fists clenched. Freeza quit massaging my shoulders. He was on his feet in a heartbeat. I frowned, it was just starting to feel good, too! 

Vegeta was up as well, bristling. He looked very tense. 

I felt the ground rumble and instantly scrambled up to my un-menacing five-one height. My head was level with the top of Piccolo's belt. Well it would be if my Saiyajin hair didn't make me look two inches taller. "W-what's going on?" 

The tall Namek beside me hissed, "Shut up, I'm trying to listen!" 

"I don't hear anything." 

Piccolo glared at me. His stony eyes had the same effect as a slap. Shutting up was definitely a good option. 

Suddenly the unnatural cocoon cracked straight down the middle. It split open slowly as if on hinges. A huge column of white light exploded through the opening, blinding everyone with its stabbing brilliance. 

"I see her!" Vegeta shouted. How could he spot anything in all that light? 

"Oh, shhhhit!" Freeza's eyes opened wide. His chest heaved faster and his irises shrank to pinpricks. He bared his teeth, a terrified deer in headlights. 

Even Piccolo went rigid. When Piccolo looks scared, it's bad. It's _very_ bad. 

I opened my eyes. Squinted at the brightness. 

The shadows shifted around. Pinchers opened and closed, I heard them snap together...they sounded like small trees being broken in half. Her tail was different from before. That's all I made out. Each movement Void made created dark patterns in the white beam shining on us. The patterns moved over everyone, almost like the shadow itself was capable of causing harm. 

The light faded. 

And I got my first glimpse at what nightmares are made of. 


	23. Part TwentyTwo

Self-Insertion, violence and language warning. I highly suggest you go to the bathroom before you read this, Void's new look is SCARY! @_@;; 

Sorry about all the delays. The stupid internet worm(thank God I have Windows 98) keeps clogging my connection and making it impossible to stay online for more than a few minutes without getting disconnected. Then I got writer's block and ff.net wouldn't load for me, so more waiting! Argh! I hope everything fixes itself soon so I don't have to keep you Believers waiting! :)   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twenty-Two

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


A creature of nightmares. Usually you'd think of Freddy Krueger, right? 

Well his monster made him look like a puppy. 

From the waist down Void looked exactly like a scorpion. Her stinger was now three feet long and sported two serrated edges. Pinchers extended from a pair of arms below her natural ones. They snapped at the air. She had gleaming, twitching mandibles like a stag beetle's jutting from either side of her mouth. Two silver wasp-like wings shimmered under the armored protrusions on her back. The bone structure on her forehead flattened out in a way that reminded me of the aliens from the movie _Independence Day_. A thin, shining slit of carapace similar to Freeza's armor plates flickered eerily between her eyes and extended over the flat crest atop her head. It swirled with some unknown energy. Silver sunlight-on-water patterns still rippled over her skin. Mercury colored eyes, two gleaming orbs full of malice, flashed with distorted reflections of everyone's horrified expressions as she scuttled closer. She made a strange sound when she moved. Similar to someone scraping their fingernails over rough leather. I'm not sure if it was her joints or her legs scratching the ground, but it made shivers dance down my spine. She was coming closer. I could only stare up at her, my body frozen in place. 

She had to be at least eleven feet tall! I mean, her shadow covered me, Piccolo, Freeza and Vegeta all at once! 

Her power...I know it's been said a million times on the show and I swore I wouldn't say it...but _I **never** felt a power like that!_ It created shockwaves inside my skull that reverberated through my body. My head felt like it was pulsating. I thought my bones were going to explode. Everything inside me throbbed from her energy. 

Just looking at Void made my blood freeze. Piccolo's bare upper body went tense. Vegeta clenched his teeth angrily. Freeza took a shaky backwards step. Nobody spoke. There was only the scratching sound as Void halted a mere ten feet from our location. 

"So, how do you like my new look?" Her guttural voice gained a new echo, almost two voices in one. 

I swallowed and, as usual, acted on impulse, "I'd sue my plastic surgeon if I was you!" 

_Shut up!_ A voice entered my head. Piccolo slapped a sweaty hand over my mouth before I said anything else. Vegeta and Freeza both gave me a quick glare. A weight lowered into my stomach. That feeling I always get when I'm busted. 

Void only smirked at my insolence. She gave her mandibles and pinchers a decisive snap. "Now that I've finished with my make-over, it's time to destroy you all." 

"Great," Piccolo muttered under his breath. He scowled my way, "Are you going to keep your mouth shut now?" 

"Mmhmm!" 

He took his hand away. I wiped my face off. No matter who it is, I get really grossed out if I have to touch or get touched by someone who is slimy from sweating a lot. Don't ask why, I just have this thing with other peoples' bodily fluids. 

BAMF! 

Okay, what the hell was that noise? 

A white energy wave knocked everyone off their feet. Just by beating her wings, Void had us falling all over ourselves. 

Then came that scratching noise. Void cruised forward on all eight legs. She slapped Vegeta away with one pincher. Used the other to lift Freeza by the tail and fling him the opposite direction. She pointed to Piccolo. He levitated, struggling against her power. Void only laughed, made a throwing motion and Piccolo went flying. Then she spun around. Her segmented tail smashed into my side. I sailed like a bullet into the mountain she emerged from. 

It happened so fast. Nobody expected her to move that quick! Big things aren't fast! 

Unforgiving rocks exploded upon my impact. The mountain caved in, leaving me buried alive and in the dusty dark. No clue where Void or the others were. 

My heart throbbed between my ears. I choked on bits of dust. 

I laid my hands flat against the shade-cooled slab resting on my stomach. No human could move something that heavy on their own. But I wasn't human anymore, at least not in this dimension. I pushed the slab up and slid my legs out from underneath, letting it fall once I got free. Boulders rolled down on top of it. One thin beam of sunlight reached me through a crack above my head. I went to scoot again and fell back. Another rock had pinned my long hair. I worked it free, glad Saiyajin hair didn't break easy. 

Rumbling noises just outside. 

I froze. 

Deathly silence. 

The little beam of light disappeared, leaving me in complete darkness. 

My chest heaved rapidly. Void was obviously right on top of the rock pile - sitting directly above me! 

BAM! 

I felt rather than saw her serrated stinger jam through the rocks above me. 

BAM! 

From the side this time! Barely missing my kidneys! 

By now I was gasping for air. Panicked. Void knew she had me cornered and I couldn't escape. Not unless I used my power. But did I have enough energy for a good blast? 

I had to try! 

Bam. Bam. Bam. BAM! 

Her tail kept digging into the rocks. 

I tried not to notice it. Let go of myself and allowed my energy to collect. I imagined it as a wave of light starting in my center and spreading out through my body. I raised my hands above my head and waited. Void probably sensed my ki rising...I didn't care anymore. I wanted out! 

The ki congealed on my palms. Burning delightfully as it reached its climax. 

"_Masenko-HAAAAAAAAAA!_" I blasted the rocks above me away. Void scooted aside just in time. But I had my opening. I jumped back into the harsh daylight and took off. If Void followed me, she did it from a distance. I didn't see her anywhere. 

And I didn't give a shit. All I cared about was finding the others.   
  


Piccolo found me before I located anyone else. I was so panicked that I didn't sense him until he nearly ran me down to get my attention. Had the situation not been so dire, I'm sure he would've laughed at the terrified look on my face. "Can you sense the others?" 

"No, I lost track when Void swiped me. We have to move, she's chasing me!" 

That made him glance back over his shoulder. Sensing Void's power didn't require much concentration. Her energy levels were obnoxiously high. 

I heard Piccolo curse under his breath. He inhaled slowly and said, "Okay, I've located Freeza's ki. He's alive. Vegeta probably has his power suppressed and that's why I can't pick him up." 

"Great, needle in a haystack. That's just what we need right now." 

"Quit complaining!" Snarled Piccolo, "Void's almost on us. We can't keep running forever...so we're standing our ground against her. No backing off now. I'm sure Vegeta will sense our powers going up and seek us out. Same for Freeza, if he can still sense powers." 

Piccolo's words nearly made me choke on my own spit. Us fight Void? That huge ugly thing she turned into? "So this is it then, huh? The big fight?" 

"Yeah, kid. This is it." 

I shivered inwardly. It made me want to fly over, hug him and say that I loved him just in case we didn't get out of this alive. The other part of me knew Piccolo wouldn't stand for romance right now. 

"Anything we can use to our advantage?" 

He glanced down at me. His brow knit. "She's big, that means she won't be quite as fast...I hope. Now, you're not ridiculously powerful but you have a speed advantage over all of us. I'll increase my size to even the odds a little bit. If you can keep her off balance and distracted, I can score the heavy blows and hopefully bring her down. Vegeta and Freeza will catch on once they find us." 

Great. And here I hoped I wouldn't have to get involved any more than I had to! 

I pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. God, my makeup was probably still smeared all over my face. How hellish I must've looked! "I still think we should find the others first." 

"Cyndi," Piccolo stopped me, "they may both be hurt. We don't want to lead Void to them before they're ready." 

"True..." 

Piccolo turned and stood rigid in mid-air. He curled his arms as if stretching after a good night's sleep and proceeded to grow four feet in height. Just like that he became eleven feet tall. Over twice my height! The top of my head barely reached his crotch! His legs were bigger around than the tree in front of my house! 

Ooh, yum, a giant Piccolo without his shirt on! That made me imagine if something _else_ would've grown if he'd been in my Reality. I should think so. But he'd never fit it into my - 

"Pick your jaw up and focus!" The Namek glared waaaaaaay down at me. 

I winced. "Sorry. Man, you put the Incredible Hulk to shame! All you need to do is rip your pants when you grow and you'd have the whole change perfect!" 

"What are you babbling about now?!" 

"Nevermind." 

Intense energy crackled on the horizon. I saw the sunlight glinting off Void's armor before I saw her actual body. How the hell do things that big with that many legs fly? Doesn't ki have its limits? Argh. I clenched my jaw so my molars quit buzzing and concentrated on the power pulsating inside my body. 

Like always, powering up gave me an intense rush. I relaxed everything but my stomach muscles and WHOOSH! It shot out like a geyser from my belly button, surrounding me with a blue-white aura. 

Piccolo tightened his huge fists. He took on a mid-air stance. "Here she comes. I'll attack her head on. You sneak in and nail her when I have her attention. Go for any opening you see when I engage her. No hesitations." 

No hesitations...and no chickening out. "Right." 

"Good, now get ready." 

Void reminded me of a floating fortress because of her size. She flew with her eight legs curled up under her body. From what I could see they didn't have a super long reach. Maybe I can do some damage if I go for her underbelly. Yeah, underbelly it is. 

The huge black nightmare creature halted a few feet away. Her legs opened up and acted like balancing weights to keep her bulky form upright. "So, I see you two decided to quit running." 

"Who says we were running?" Piccolo taunted. He flashed his trademark smirk, "You don't scare me, Void." 

_Speak for yourself._ I muttered mentally, not saying anything else. I just wanted this fight to get going...and get it over with. _Come on, Piccolo, let's do this before I lose my nerve!_

He glanced at me and nodded. Next thing I knew was Piccolo shooting towards Void like a bullet from a gun. The size increase did mess up his speed a the same way going Super Saiyajin two screwed Vegeta over when he battled Cell. But his power made up for it. 

Void's eyes widened. She spread all four arms in some weird stance. Her pinchers clicked expectantly. Piccolo slammed into her chest full-force. Same sound as a car accident on the freeway. Void instantly battered him with her pinchers. He blocked what she threw. They must've gone at it for a minute straight. 

I sailed around Piccolo and Void, searching for the opening I needed. Just as I thought - Void didn't guard her lower half! I circled around once more and dove. Pulled a sharp hairpin turn and slammed both fists into her underbelly. It wasn't armored! I felt skin! 

Void buckled in mid air. She wailed in pain. Piccolo smashed his forearm into her face and nailed her with three hard jabs. He backed off when her arms flailed. Suddenly I had four sharp legs digging against my sides. They moved like pinball pins, trying to knock me away. I squirmed sideways and drove my elbow up against her soft spot again. Void nailed me back with a hard kick in the kidney. The pain made me groan. 

Energy crackled around Void's body. I smelled ozone. Then a white-hot beam slammed me away. I hit the ground with a crash. Singed around the edges, but otherwise okay. 

I sensed rather than saw Piccolo coming down right after me. I rolled aside just in time. His impact produced a huge crater and almost turned me into a pancake. 

"Piccolo! Are you okay?" 

Piccolo pushed himself up to his towering height. He cracked his neck a few times and smirked at me. "Never better." 

Void's power level shot through the roof. Then a tiny, bright sphere of light fluttered down between Piccolo and I. Piccolo stared at it with narrowed eyes. But I remembered this little trick. 

"Piccolo...MOVE!!!!" 

We both scattered. Seconds later the little sphere swelled up and created a bigger explosion than the first one. Void laughed her ass off. A string of ki energy wrapped around my waist, trapping me. Piccolo snarled, also caught. This time the energy flickered between purple and red, and appeared tethered to her pinchers. 

"Here's another one I've been working on. I call it.....Armageddon Chain..." She smiled and crossed her upper arms across her armored chest, "you'll see where it got its name in just a second." 

I screamed, "BITCH!" 

Piccolo just glared at her. 

Void giggled with glee. Her pinchers glowed. Then two electrical balls of light emerged, each about as big as Vegeta's gravity room. It reminded me of the big ball in Times Square that drops on New Year's. Only these wouldn't be lighting up a new year. "When the balls reach you....KABOOM!" 

Then she let them go. The twin spheres came forward slowly. I'm no expert at judging speed, but I guessed Piccolo and I had about one minute before all hell broke loose. 

Great, now what? 

I squirmed. Piccolo wrenched himself from side to side. Nothing we did broke the "chain". 

_Piccolo, I can't get free!_ I thought. 

_Me either...keep trying! Don't panic, just keep trying._ Piccolo 'sounded' pretty calm, but he sure didn't look it. 

And Void just kept LAUGHING. I wanted to smack her! 

Thirty desperate seconds went by and nothing. Neither Piccolo or I had any success. We both had an energy sphere less than ten feet from us. We were going to die! 

Movement in my peripheral vision. Something red zoomed up between my feet. I felt a breeze and heard a screeching noise. Suddenly I was free! The same red object swooped past Piccolo. He wasted no time - he lunged at me. His massive body shoved me away less than a second after the energy balls finished their journey. 

Armageddon indeed! 

The explosions lit up half the freaking sky with a blinding blue-white light. As big and bright as a Spirit Bomb. That's all I saw before Piccolo and I hit the ground. Not the most pleasant landing I've ever made, but I'd survive. 

I came to my senses again and squirmed around for a better view. Looked up in the sky and saw Void fighting with...someone. Her opponent looked tiny and white. I saw gleams of purple. 

Freeza! That was Freeza! He was POUNDING her real good! 

Or at least he pounded her until she swiped him away with her wings. Freeza came smashing into the ground right next to Piccolo and I, creating another crater in the dirt. He sat up slowly, clutching his shoulder. Blood oozed from under his hand and created rivulets down his bicep. His face scrunched up in obvious pain. 

"Nice of you to drop in," Piccolo muttered, "Any idea where Vegeta is?" 

Freeza snorted, made a hacking noise and spat bloody phlegm onto the ground. I made a face and looked away. Ugh, what is it with MEN and SPITTING? It's disgusting! 

"No. Don't know where he's at. He was pretty messed up when Void smacked him. I bet he's just coming to and madder than a hornet." 

I crossed my arms, imitating Piccolo. "Perfect. I don't think we can beat Void on our own. We need - " 

Void cut in, "Are you going to talk for the rest of your pathetic lives, or are we going to fight? I have better things to do than squash worthless insects like you all day." 

"Go eat a dick!" I shouted back. God, I haven't used that one in a long time. 

"Oh, you should talk." Void looked pointedly from Piccolo to me. "Oh, I forgot...he doesn't have one." 

Piccolo didn't get it, but I turned bright red and gave Void a one-finger salute. She laughed and sailed down to land a short distance from us. The earth below us trembled when she touched down and scooted forward a few steps. There was that weird scratching noise again! It must be her feet scraping the ground. 

She was just starting to charge us when - 

**_KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_**

A meteor hit the ground behind Void, knocking her onto her side. The deafening explosion lit up like a gold fireball brighter than the sun. Debris blasted skyward and exploded. I almost went with it! Piccolo grabbed my ankle and anchored me with his massive arm. Everyone shielded their eyes until the light became tolerable. 

Dust, dirt and smoke swirled like debris around a black hole. Blue lightning tore at it every second. Suddenly the smoke abated, only the glow remained. 

There stood Vegeta, his mouth drawn into a tight line and wrinkles forming across his brow. A dangerous gleam passed through his clear turquoise eyes. He turned his head and clenched one fist, making his muscles bulge. His aura flared like the wings of a phoenix rising from its ashes. 

They don't call him the Saiyajin Prince for nothing. 

Void rolled to her feet. She took on her weird arms-all-spread stance. Her body gleamed in the light from Vegeta's aura. 

"Void," Vegeta pronounced each word like acid dripping off his tongue, "You've humiliated me for the last time. The girl over there knows what happens to people humiliate me." 

She laughed at him, "Bring it on, big boy." 

Vegeta smirked and held both arms out sideways. His swirling ki gained intensity and gave off more wind. His power was incredible! "NOW **_DIIIIEEEEEE!_**" 

Freeza, Piccolo and myself scrambled into the sky. Just in time...the ground literally fell apart below us. Gravity reversed, dragging everything _towards_ the angry Saiyajin. Piccolo had to grab Freeza and me so we wouldn't get pulled in. Massive energy converged on a single point. We all heard Vegeta screaming. 

The entire world seemed to vanish in a single, titanic blast. 

Vegeta came shooting out of the smoke. More explosions illuminated him. The fireball was right on his heels! 

"GO! NOW!" 

We didn't need to be told twice! Everyone shot off in the same direction. The giant shockwaves reached us even though we'd relocated several miles away. Smoke covered the entire continent we were standing on, turning the sky dark grayish-brown. 

There's no way Void could've survived _that_. No freaking way. 


	24. Part TwentyThree

Self-Insertion, violence and language warning.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twenty-Three

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


There's no way Void could've survived _that_. No freaking way. 

I gaped stupidly at the huge mountains of smoke rising into the atmosphere. It looked like a black wall moving steadily closer. Had this place been a real planet and not a dreamscape, I'm sure the smoke would eventually cover the whole globe. 

For a time it became utterly still. Nobody moved, we were all trying to sense Void. Only the wind moved, stirring my hair and the torn edges of my clothes. My nose detected different scents of sweat mixed with the smoke creeping towards us. I concentrated harder on my senses. Reaching out as far as my mind would allow. 

Nothing. Not even a flicker. 

I couldn't contain my excitement anymore. In fact, I barely managed a subdued tone when I turned to the others and said, "I think we won." 

"I sure don't sense Void anywhere." Piccolo stated plainly. He twisted his face in concentration and shrank back to his normal seven-foot height. It was funny - his body shrank first, so for a split second his limbs were still huge. Then they shrank too and left him with his normal proportions. 

Vegeta didn't look too sure, but he's always a party pooper. 

Freeza let out a whoop like you wouldn't believe! He pumped his white arm in the air and cheered, "We're free! We won!" 

"Yes!" I backflipped in mid air, twirled around and flew in a complete circle the small gathering. "WE WON!! WOOHOO! YEAH! WE ROCK!" Then I dove at Vegeta and planted a kiss on his cheek - he squirmed away with a few choice words. I glided to Freeza and caught him up in a big bear hug...also giving him a little peck on the cheek. He blushed. Finally I flitted up to Piccolo and slopped a big one on him. Piccolo was too surprised to do anything more than tolerate my affection. Not once during our relationship did I ever show such a public display of my feelings for him. Until now, anyway. 

Piccolo's whole face and ears turned completely purple. He pushed me away once the shock wore off, but it was too late. Everyone saw us. 

"Enough with the mushy stuff." Piccolo said coldly. But then he smirked and reached down to pat my head, his way of being affectionate. 

Vegeta's wide-eyed stare was priceless! Freeza finally had to nudge him so he'd quit gawking. 

"What? You want one from me, too?" He asked jokingly. 

Vegeta just turned his head away. "Humph!" 

I gave Piccolo's muscular arm a tug, "C'mon, let's go land somewhere. I'm tired from all that and I don't know if I can stay up in the air." 

The tall Namek smiled. We descended together and landed on a large, rocky island. Leaving Freeza and Vegeta on their own for the moment. Maybe, given time, they could learn to get along. 

I flopped down indian style as soon as Piccolo and I touched down on the ground. He sat across from me, leaning against a nearby boulder. Poor Piccolo, he was exhausted, dirty and sweaty. His chiseled pecs heaved and his eyelids drooped. He wiped a hand down the center of his face, brushing away the sweat. A move that wound up smearing more dirt across his cheeks and nose. For a moment there he kinda reminded me of a construction worker taking a break. 

Needless to say...I enjoyed the view while he rested. 

_Seeing you half-naked makes this whole trip soooo worth it_. I said to myself, smiling. _Damn, you look HOT!_

_Well of course I'm hot, I was just in a fight!_ Piccolo picked his head up and blinked, _After all this, you're still thinking dirty thoughts about me?_

Heat leaked into my cheeks. I burst out laughing. Piccolo joined in, though his chuckles were kept quiet and subdued. 

"Kid, you have a one-track mind." 

"You bet!" I jumped up onto the rock he was leaning against, grinning. From there I had a good view of Freeza and Vegeta. They appeared to be having some sort of conversation. Well, more like Freeza did the talking and gesturing - Vegeta just ignored him. I wished I could hear what Freeza was saying. 

Finally I had to ask, "Hey, Piccolo...what's Freeza saying to Vegeta?" 

The tall Namek tilted his head a bit and listened. He smirked, "He's talking about his wife and daughter." 

"Ah, why am I not surprised?" I reached into my pocket and...whaddya know...found the capsule containing my backpack. Cool! I tossed it down. A few moments later found me re-applying my makeup. It would probably end up running again later. But at least I'd look good for a while. 

Piccolo watched me, fascinated. He waited until I got to my lipstick before asking, "Why do you bother putting that back on when you know it'll be ruined later?" 

"Well..." I finished putting my lipstick on, giggled and slid down next to Piccolo. Planted a big smooch, leaving a nice lip-smack right on his cheek. No need to blot now. "It's a girl thing, I guess. Everything has to look good." 

He growled a bit and wiped his cheek until the kiss mark disappeared. Giving my head a playful shove, he smirked, "Get outta here with that. I don't need your girly markings all over my face." 

"Why not? It's how I mark my territory. With lip-smacks." I laughed and climbed back onto the rock to poof my belongings back into a capsule. 

I noticed the air smelled like a fireplace. Bits of ash started falling. Not much, but enough to make everybody look like they had dandruff. Darkness claimed the sky. The smoke was finally reaching our location. It created an eerie shadow over everything, kind of like wearing sunglasses. I gained an incredible feeling of foreboding. That feeling you always get when something isn't quite right, but you don't know what it is. Blame it on my woman's intuition. 

"Piccolo...I don't like this. It doesn't feel right." 

The tall Namek rumbled wordlessly. "You noticed it too?" 

"I wonder if - " 

**KA-BLAM! KA-BLAM! KA-BLAM! BOOM! KA-BLAM! BOOM! KA-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM!**

Pillars of energy shot up from the ground between Piccolo and I, drawing a large circle in the dirt. The earthquake knocked me onto my butt. I lost sight of Piccolo. Freeza and Vegeta both spun towards the explosions. 

Black tentacles erupted and closed around me like a slimy fist, immobilizing me completely. Something slammed up from underground, spraying the area with pebbles and dirt. Everything shook in blind madness! I knew nothing but flashes of light in the smoke, sounds of explosions and the others shouting. Piccolo, most of all, because his scream was of pain. 

More explosions. Freeza growling. Vegeta cussing. Piccolo was silent. I kept squirming, unable to free myself. 

"HELP!" I screamed. Terror reached a whole new level. All the changes adrenalin brings about hit me tenfold. I became so scared I almost threw up. Tears raced down my face. I came within seconds of hyperventilating. "SOMEONE HELP ME! I CAN'T MOVE!" 

"Dammit, I can't move either!" Vegeta snarled. His voice came from the left, not too far away from where I was. 

"Cyndi!" Freeza dove into view and attached himself to the tentacles pinning me. He braced a foot on the ground and gave several hard yanks. Suddenly a black object stretched from the right. Freeza didn't spot it in time. His eyes opened wide. Tentacles got him too! He struggled like crazy, but they just pulled him down to the ground. 

"FREEZA!" I wrenched myself from side to side, "Dammit, no!" 

Vegeta's power skyrocketed. His aura flashed brilliant gold. I heard snapping noises. He was free, I glimpsed his gold aura taking to the air. Freeza also broke out of his bonds in a flash of blue-white. He took to the sky as well. Both probably assumed I could break out too. 

But I couldn't even move my arms. I'm too damn weak! Why the hell am I fighting this fight when I can't do anything?! I'm always slowing everyone down! 

Cold laughter split the air. Void's laughter. In the curling smoke I saw her imposing form. Just glimpses of shimmery armor amidst dark shadows. Then her eyes came into view. They mocked me. Laughing at my weakness. She was missing her left pincher and had dirty spots all over her armor. Silver turpentine-scented blood leaked down the center of her face, creating three thin lines that reminded me of the Atari logo. It looked like war-paint. 

"Let me go!" I screamed. 

"Heh, heh, heh...I love how helpless you look." Void clicked her mandibles. She crossed her upper arms and stood up straighter. 

Then I noticed she had Piccolo. He dangled lifelessly from her remaining pincher, which she had clamped against his throat. She'd beaten him severely. He looked like Nail did after Freeza left him to die. No...worse. I won't even describe it because it was so bad. Seeing Piccolo like that made tears well up in my eyes. 

I still felt his power. He was alive. 

Anger welled up in my throat. How dare Void hurt Piccolo! How dare she! 

"You...you sick bitch! Let him go! Haven't you done enough?!" 

Piccolo suddenly grabbed the sides of Void's pincher. He kicked his right let up and smashed his foot into the joint. Void wailed in pain. She dropped him instantly. He landed on his back. Did a quick handspring to move himself away. His left leg was wounded - he fell. Got up again. Came limping towards me, one hand clutching his bleeding right arm. Not fast enough! He'd never get away from her like that! 

"NOW!" Vegeta shouted from the air. 

A barrage of yellow and red ki blasts slammed down from somewhere in the smoke. Freeza and Vegeta...both trying to divert Void's attention from Piccolo. Void looked up, smiled and raised her hands. The energy geysers started up again, sending Freeza and Vegeta flying upwards. I felt their powers move far away...aside from being surprised they seemed all right. Just frazzled. 

Void's eyes settled on Piccolo. He was five feet from me. She shuffled forward behind him, her legs making that scratchy noise. Her tail arched and the stinger gleamed. 

_No! Piccolo, get away from here! Fly! Run! She's after you!_

Piccolo didn't answer or listen to me. His mind was probably focused solely on moving, he didn't seem aware of Void creeping up on him. Either that or he was aware and trying to outrun her. Fat chance! 

I fought harder against the tentacles binding me. They only held on tighter. 

Piccolo was less than two feet from me when Void lunged. I heard a slashing noise. The Namek froze. His pupils disappeared. He slumped forward over the barbed, silver stinger protruding from his navel. The stinger twisted sideways and pulled itself out in a spray of body fluids. Piccolo fell forward and landed facedown into a puddle of his own purplish blood. He reminded me of an exotic green bird shot by hunters. The love of my life was lying two feet from me, bleeding to death, and I couldn't do a thing to help him. I couldn't stop Void from hurting him. I couldn't protect him. I couldn't even hold him. 

"Piccolo..." 

In my mind I saw the bright light I witnessed in Vegeta's gravity room. The containment field around it shattered like glass. I heard an Oozaru roar. Light exploded, unchecked, through the darkness. Renewed energy surged within me. It was so warm...so blissfully warm... 

**KA-BLAAAAMMM!**

Void rocked back and disappeared seconds before the blast hit. I glimpsed her in the sky, engaging Vegeta and Freeza. 

I focused on my energy again. It kept rising like a pot boiling over. I had no control! I was just so...so angry! So angry that thunder rumbled around me. Lightning flashed over my head. Debris rose off the ground. My aura appeared, brilliant blue-white against the dark gray smoke. Piccolo was dying in front of me! Freeza and Vegeta were going to get killed. And I HAD NO WAY TO HELP THEM! 

I snapped. Something inside me just...snapped. I could _not_ let my friends die! 

My aura turned blinding white. Then it flashed to gold and went back to white. Gold and white. Over and over. I saw only red. Blood red. Then white and gold...I was seeing my own energy...it was so bright inside me that it lit up my retinas from behind. I trembled, attached to an invisible electric generator. Sparks flew off my tingling body. My skin burned. My heart burned. My anger burned. _I_ burned! Void was going to **_pay_** for what she did! My energy kept pulsating. An explosion waiting to happen. I was on the edge of something incredible. 

I let go of everything, letting the power take over. Gave myself completely to the change coming over me. 

"**_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!_**" 

My power surged out of control. The hair on my arms and head stood on end as if I'd been struck by lightning. My heart thudded at light-speed, the blood roaring through my ears like thunder. The earth around me shattered. My muscles tightened like coiled steel. I felt myself breaking free and rising up. Senses intensified. I was faster. Stronger. I felt so...so alive and full of power! Full of _power_. Sheer, un-tainted _power_. 

My toes touched down on the battered dirt. My vision cleared to a golden aura that made a very distinctive twinkling sound. I looked down at Piccolo's prone form. He rolled over and stared up at me, but didn't look at all surprised at my new power. 

"You...you're a...super Saiyajin...I knew you'd do it...." He said. Then he coughed up a huge glob of blood and chuckled. "Heh! Shave your eyebrows off...and you'd look like...like...a...Super Saiyajin...three...all that frigging hair of yours...you look funny, kid." 

I knelt, wrapped my arms around Piccolo's shoulders and pressed my lips to his. I didn't care that he bled into my mouth. For some reason I liked the coppery taste on my tongue. "Shh, just rest and work on regenerating yourself." I put my hand down over his, the one he used to clutch the bloody wound. Doing the 'mothering' bit, as he put it. "We can talk about my funny hair later. Right now...I'll help keep Void busy. You get yourself better." I touched his cheek, "Piccolo, I love you." 

"Yeah, yeah. Knock off...the mushy stuff...and go...fight." Piccolo smirked at me through his pain. I felt his heartbeat slow to control the bleeding. He closed his eyes and rested, gathering energy to heal himself. 

"I'll make her sorry she ever hurt you." I laid him down and pressed my lips to his brow. "Don't you dare die on me." 

Time to see just how powerful I've become. 

I blasted off the ground. Screaming my head off as I charged up at Void, aura blazing in my wake. I reached her in _one second_. Everything else appeared to move in ultra-slow motion. The air passed my ears so fast it actually howled. And I was fast before... 

"VOID! GO TO **_HELL!_**" 

Void had just enough time to give me a shocked look. Then my fist smashed into her jaw. She went flying back into the ground with silver blood flying off her face. I caught her completely off-guard. Otherwise that would've never worked. 

Freeza floated forward, his skin a dirty-white against the smoky background. His eyes were huge. He lifted up a lock of static-charged hair falling over my face and stared at me, "Cyndi? Is that you under there?" 

I faced him and smiled, "Yeah..." 

A hand clamped hard onto my shoulder. Oddly, my shoulder didn't have the same give it had before. Like my muscles became armor under my skin. This new form was way more intense than my "super" form in the Real world. If my "super" human form was an atomic blast...the Super Saiyajin form is a supernova explosion. I turned to the person whose hand rested on my shoulder. 

"Control your energy." Vegeta said sternly. Not at all impressed by my change. Compared to him I was still pretty weak. "It won't last forever, even if it feels like it will. Use only what you need and nothing more until the right moment arrives. Otherwise you'll have nothing left to fight with." 

I looked away from him and fixed my eyes on the ground. My aura dissolved back into my being. The power was still there, just not being displayed to the world. "Piccolo has to hurry up. We can't beat Void without him. Only the four of us together can win against her...she's just too strong." 

Freeza bobbed in the air. He wiped sweat off his forehead and fixed his red eyes on Vegeta and I. "Well, what do we do until then? Let her run rampant?" 

"No...we keep her busy until Piccolo can join us again. He's hurt bad." I boiled in anger. The way Void hurt Piccolo was still very fresh in my mind. Usually I can forget bad moments like that. Not this time. "We have to be like mosquitoes...just annoy her for awhile without using up too much power." 

Vegeta cut me off, "Here she comes!" He dodged past me and flew at Void's approaching form. His foot smashed solidly into her chest. Right in the boob! Even if it was armored...I still winced at that. 

Then Freeza looped in. "I'm gonna wipe that grin right off your face!" He _bitch slapped_ her just like Goku did to him! Then he turned around and whipped her throat with his tail. Go Freeza! I would've cracked up if the situation wasn't so serious. 

My turn. I zoomed down to Void's vulnerable underbelly, "This is for Piccolo!" and kicked her as hard as I could. Still felt like kicking a tank. 

Void went reeling from the attacks on all sides. "Annoying insects! I can't wait to destroy you! Then your worlds will be MINE!" 

"In your..." I snickered, "In your dreams, Ass-mole!" 

"Grr!" 

A huge tail smashed against my side. It sent me flying into the ground, which imploded on impact. I kind of sank in because my body displaced so much energy. Finally, I made a crater worthy of the show! I got up and laughed. Not sure what I found so funny...maybe it's because the impact didn't even hurt. My skin was almost completely numb to pain. 

Up in the sky, Freeza and Vegeta continued their assault. Void kept swatting at them. But her size made her slow - she never made a solid connection. 

BANG! 

Uh oh. 

I scrambled away just in time. Void crashed into the half-destroyed dirt less than ten feet behind me. Damn, she made a crater bigger than mine! She rolled to her feet, shook herself like a cat and charged right at me. I jumped back. Her tail lashed out. I dodged it. Left, right, up, down and up again. It still moved fast...normal speed compared to a slow-motion background...but I still had enough warning to avoid it. 

And while Void was busy with me... 

KA-BOOM! BOOM! 

Freeza nailed her with a huge red ki blast. Vegeta sailed in right behind it to land a kick in the middle of her back. Void's legs buckled. She lashed her tail at them. Freeza tangled his tail in hers. "Have a nice trip!" He landed on the ground and whipped her over his head like a catapult! Quite an amazing sight considering the size differences. Void gave a surprised cry and smashed into the ground. More dirt flew up. Freeza jumped back and panted for air. "And that..." he gasped, "...was for Cathy and Lexy." 

"Nice one!" 

More leather-scratching noises. Void was up and heading for Piccolo! 

"Oh hell no." I charged across her path. Piccolo picked me up countless times...now I was the one to pick him up. His size and my small arms made for quite an awkward moment. He didn't even twitch when I looped my arms under his armpits and took to the air. Void's tail slammed into the dirt less than a second after take-off. 

Vegeta jumped in to keep Void busy. Sounds from their battle echoed all around. Freeza came up and took hold of Piccolo's dangling legs. He helped me lower the unconscious Namek to the ground. His injury wasn't bleeding anymore, but I worried that too much movement would destroy the healing process already taking place. The less we disturbed his wound the better. 

I guided Piccolo's head gently so it wouldn't smack into the grass. "She's sick. Going after someone who can't fight back...that's just wrong." I went about arranging Piccolo into a more comfortable resting position. Or at least moved him enough that he wouldn't wake up with his legs asleep or something equally uncomfortable. 

Freeza touched my arm. "He'll be okay here. Let's go help Vegeta." 

"Right." 

Freeza's aura flashed white around him. He took off in a blaze to re-join the battle. I glanced down at Piccolo. His power level was coming back up. Soon he'd be back at my side, fighting with me. I smiled and let my gold aura flare. Oh the glory of being a Super Saiyajin. 

I took off and rocketed back into the fray. 


	25. Part TwentyFour

Self-Insertion, violence and pretty nasty language warning. This chappie is a little longer than usual. Sorry for the delay. I had internet issues(network went out and I had to change my local access number, grrr! Not fun if you're computer illiterate like I am X_x) mixed with writer's block and I needed to take a little break to get back on track. Maybe it was just a matter of eating beef jerky and listening to the Metal channel on my Digital Cable o_O For some reason that always puts me in a fighting mood. ^_^()   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twenty-Four

  
  
  
  
  


KA-BOOM! 

Three bodies slammed into the battle-scarred soil. Vegeta and I sat up, wincing. Freeza dug himself out from under a pile of rubble from the blast. He had one eye squeezed shut in pain. I felt for him...I ached all over too. Vegeta didn't seem much better off. We were all tired. Void kept picking us apart. Chewing us up and spitting us out. Handing asses back. You name it, she did it. We wouldn't be able to hold back for much longer. 

I engaged her again. Rapid hit-block. She dispatched me easily. I went in again. Nailed her good with my trusty _Gekidoshinku_. And got knocked down AGAIN! 

"Well this isn't working," I muttered aloud to anyone close enough to hear me. 

Freeza moaned and rubbed his shoulder. He gave it a few quick jerks, making a sickening crack. His pained expression melted away. "We don't have much choice." 

"Quit clowning around!" Vegeta interrupted, "You fools, in case you didn't notice Void is still standing!" 

"Yeah, and what can we do to fix that?" I asked in a smart-ass tone. 

"Dying would be nice," Void cut in. 

"Butt out!" I glared at her, "Nobody asked you!" 

She pretended like I hurt her feelings. Fake sniffling and all, "I just made a suggestion." 

Vegeta growled and exploded off the ground. I watched him blur from view. He slammed a fist into Void's face. The impact twisted her head sideways. He landed a second blow that turned her head the other way. Then he jumped back, smirking, both fists held up and ready. "My fists suggest you shut up, creature." 

"Hmph." 

_Yeah, Vegeta...keep running your mouth. The more we delay Void, the more time Piccolo has to get better._ I thought to myself. For once Vegeta's big mouth was doing us some good. I never imagined I'd see the day! 

"Freeza." 

The small Icejin looked my way. He appeared as pensive as I was at the moment. "Yeah?" 

"Maybe mouthing off would buy more time. Look at Vegeta...he's insulting her like crazy. Void thinks it's funny and she's still fighting, but it's delaying her attacks. See? More talk than fighting. She can't let anyone have the last word with her. Maybe if we get her mad enough to do something stupid..." 

"...she'll make a mistake that'll give us an edge." He finished for me, obviously picking up on my idea. A smile formed to reveal shocking white teeth. "It worked once, it could work again." 

"Right," I glanced towards Piccolo's prone form. The blood puddle underneath him wasn't any bigger. Good, he'd stopped the bleeding. I pushed a tag of gold hair aside and grabbed Freeza's uninjured shoulder. "Okay, we have to start using the most childish and obnoxious insults we know. Everything we've got. Are you ready?" 

Freeza snickered and gave me a sweeping bow. The same kind of bow performers take on stage. He gestured to Void with a grin, "After you." 

For some reason I got the giggles. Maybe it was the childish crap flowing through my mind. I turned to Void and screamed, "Hey Void! Take a piece of dynamite, stick it into your crotch and light it! Enjoy it too, because it's the only bang you'll ever get! Oh my God, you're so ugly your incubator had tinted windows! You leftover shit-nugget!" 

Void's entire bulk paused, mouth open and finger up like she was about to give a lecture. Kind of comical. What was she? A monster prepared to take over our dreams or a teacher ready to bust us for mouthing off? 

"You have a shifty tail! It shows! Freaaaaaaaaaaaak!" 

"Freeza, you call that an insult?" I blinked. 

He grinned, "Back on my home planet, telling someone their tail is shifty is insulting their sexuality. Same meaning as the word 'fag' or 'dyke'. I haven't used that one since I was a kid!" 

Sweatdrop for me! "Oh yeah, I forgot we come from different cultures." 

"Will you two shut up!?" Vegeta floated towards us, sneering. Figures he'd be ticked at us for interrupting....whatever "perfect" plan he had going. "I can handle this myself! Stop interfering!" 

A sneer wrinkled Freeza's pale nose, "This is a team battle. It's not all about _you_, Vegeta. Every time we insult Void we delay her. The more we delay her, the more time Piccolo has to regenerate himself. We need to keep buying time. There's no way we can win this without his help." 

"Don't tell me how to fight my battles," snapped Vegeta. Freeza narrowed his eyes into slits. I could practically smell the testosterone levels rising. 

Men! They're impossible! 

"Idiots," I muttered. I left them to sort out their differences and flew a bit closer to Void. Her expression showed quite a lot of amusement towards Freeza and Vegeta. I growled at her. "Arrogant bitch, your face makes cow shit look pretty! Overgrown boogerflicker." 

Void didn't like people insulting her looks. I found that out pretty quick when she tried to bash my face in. Her fists are bigger than my head. It's good thing I dodged! I don't think my face would look too good on her knuckles, do you? Yikes! 

"You sloppy sack of Siberian sheep shit!" 

"Look who's talking." 

"Ass-mole!" 

"Grr!" Her ki rose. 

"Dick eater! Butthole robber!" I watched her fume. The best part of insulting people? Making up names and comments as you go along. "Pimple popping pussy picker! You're so ugly your hand goes to sleep when you try to masturbate! Haha!" 

"I've seen stag beetles with bigger jaws than yours," Freeza cut in, laughing. "You anal whoremonger! Go home to your pimp and come back when you've cleaned up your STDs. Oh wait, that's on your FACE! I'm soooooo sorry. I can hire a plastic surgeon for you if you like. I highly recommend Freddy Krueger. He's real good with knives." 

Void swung at Freeza "SHUT UP!" 

Freeza dodged her. He spun around and nailed her forehead with a spinning kick. She lost altitude, but quickly bobbed back up to our level. I leapfrogged over Freeza's head to plant both feet between Void's boobs. She fell again. "This is for everybody you've hurt!!" I nailed her chin with an uppercut before she had a chance to recover. Silver blood flew. Then I jumped back. She growled at me, mercury eyes blazing. I could almost see her anger gauge twisting towards critical. 

"Weakling." Vegeta muttered. He had better things to do than deal with 'our petty insults'. Like fight. Poor guy, I know how he feels - wanting to fight was like a food craving. Drawing blood from Void put me in a state of bliss much like eating chocolate does. 

As usual I ran out of mean things to say after a short time. I threw Void the most cruel, disgusting and stupid insults I knew. Ugh, I'll have to go to Confession after this is all over. But the plan worked! Freeza, Vegeta and myself all delayed her for a total of....fifteen or so minutes. 

Then she'd had enough. 

Void stopped laughing. Her smile disappeared. Slitted eyes narrowed further. Energy crackled around her large black form, undamaged pincher quivering. "I see what you're doing...you little punks are trying to delay me! Well no more! This ends right here." She fixed her stony gaze on me. "I think I'll start with you!" 

No time to react! Void lunged! My brain shut down - I froze. I'm a Super Saiyajin and I froze solid. Shut my eyes and cringed. 

A breeze. The 'zing' sound of someone phasing in front of me. 

Impact - metallic armor on skin echoing off the sky. 

"You!" Void snarled her frustration. 

I peeked an eye open. Green filled my vision. The other eye opened. My sight traversed the familiar curve of a thick neck and bald head. 

"Piccolo! You're okay!" 

"Yeah," Piccolo's voice vibrated through his back, coming out muffled since he was facing the other way. "Thanks for buying me time, kid. Now let's put an end to this freak." Then he thought aloud to all of us, _I'll soften her up. The rest of you wait here and start powering up. Cough if you understand_. 

Three fake coughs answered him. I felt rather than saw the smirk curling the left half of Piccolo's mouth upwards. He probably had one antenna arched higher than the other...that always happens when he's in a good "battle mood". Renewed energy shivered off his large frame. Like being next to an overloaded electric generator. I resisted the urge trace his spine with my tongue. I'm perverted enough to do something like that. 

Void's mouth formed a wry grin. Or as close to one as she could get with those ugly mandibles. "Heh, heh, you have no chance of beating me." Snap went her jaws. Piccolo leaned back until his head was level with his feet! Damn, he's flexible! Maybe not as limber as Freeza...but way more limber than I am. 

Everything paused. Vegeta and Freeza didn't move. I didn't move. Piccolo and Void didn't move. It probably lasted no more than a second. But to me, it was an eternity. 

Zzzzip! 

Piccolo and Void blurred from view. I heard the crashes, slams and shouts of their battle. Sometimes I glimpsed little lightning-flashes. Shockwaves rammed into my breastbone. They fought so fast I couldn't follow! Yet Vegeta and Freeza had no trouble watching. Their eyeballs jerked every which way. 

Vegeta quit watching first. He stared ahead, lines of concentration framing his angry features. A second later he had golden fire spewing off his body. Freeza took the hint and joined him. I watched his body slowly beef up. He was powering up to a hundred percent. 

I smelled blood. It broke my concentration before it established itself. Stupid me, forgetting to power up! Only I would be that dumb. 

BOOM! 

A crater opened in the dirt below. Piccolo emerged from the wreckage, dirty and mildly bruised. I didn't waste any time locking my arms around his neck. Looking over his shoulder, I saw Void sprawled out in the crater. She looked worse for the wear. Wow, I guess Piccolo got her back for hurting him! 

"What are you doing?" He scowled deeply at me, strong hands pushing me off him. I got a nice eyeful of his gleaming fangs. "Don't get affectionate now. Power up! This isn't over!" 

I blinked stupidly, "I won't blow myself up, will I?" 

Vegeta burst out laughing. He faced me with gold and blue energy swirling around his face like a gilded veil. I swear his eyes were glowing. "You only explode if you can't control your energy. You have nothing to worry about, twig-girl. Let me put it a better way...if it hurts, you've gone too far. Better?" 

"Blowing yourself up is highly unlikely," Freeza added. His once-calm face bore the strain of his rising ki. He reminded me of a harlequin. Bloodshot eyes, muscles bulging, teeth clenched. Okay so maybe his power-up wasn't quite as painless as he made it sound. 

Piccolo grabbed my shoulder hard, "Come on, Cyndi! Stop stalling!" 

I got tired of being ordered around. "Stop..." I shoved his hand off, "PUSHING ME!" And out came all that power. Rushing forth from the core of my being. It sizzled across my skin like static shocks. Imagine passing your hand across a TV screen and feeling all the crackling. I felt that ten times stronger. My aura was violent like a solar corona. I closed my fists and arched my body into the power stream. Didn't want it to stop. Involuntary screams clenched my throat. 

I am woman. Hear me roar! 

It took about two minutes for me to get anywhere close to everyone else's energy levels. Just in time to watch Void pick her fat ass up off the ground. She staggered drunkenly. Piccolo really did a number on her. Go Piccolo! 

"Youuuuuu!" Void scowled up at us. She had one eye screwed shut in pain. "That's it...no more fooling around." A dark, tendril-like silver and black aura erupted around her form. It instantly destroyed the ground under her eight legs. White lightning tore through the dark aura-cloud and created a strobe effect. I just saw flashes of her moving around. She wasn't laughing at us anymore. I only heard an animalistic growl. Her power was insane! "This ends HERE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" 

Vegeta and Freeza went goggle-eyed. Then Vegeta snarled and pushed more power into his aura. Freeza tightened his fists. Piccolo came closer to me. The angry tightening of his lips suggest Void was stronger than he anticipated. 

White shockwaves blasted us. I fell back against Piccolo's chest, tangling our auras into a mix of gold and blue-white. Freeza almost lost his position in the air. Vegeta didn't move at all. He was a frowning statue with static discharges oozing over his skin. Another shockwave slammed us. This time it carried screams of the people Void absorbed. I heard Father Jim, my parents and a dozen other people I couldn't identify right away. 

The sky turned black. Blacker than it did when the Dragonballs are in use. No, I mean it was _black._ Horizon to horizon. Existence itself twisted. The earth around Void kept shattering. Everything her energy touched was all but destroyed. Her aura expanded to surround us. Further still. I've never seen an aura so huge! It burned my skin and smelled like ozone. 

Then the whole place blew up. Just...KA-BLAM!...and everything became black.   
  


Dim awareness came to me. I jerked bolt upright in Piccolo's arms and saw only darkness. Little islands of gray-white debris floated around. It reminded me of Rice Krispies in milk. Or like Namek after it exploded, except without stars in the background. Even worse...like the Anime world when I almost failed the last time I fought Void. What if we lost the fight? 

My mouth went dry. "What's happening?!" 

"She's taking control of the dreamscape. All this time she's had us fooled into thinking we were in control," Piccolo answered nervously. He released me to fly on my own power, but didn't let go of my shoulders(which his hands easily spanned). "Freeza, Vegeta, come over here! I don't know what she's up to and I don't want her breaking us up." 

Freeza suggested, "Right. Let's land somewhere." Look out, Mr. Universe, Freeza's about to muscle in on you. Literally! Hard to believe that little body of his can puff up so big. 

"There." Vegeta pointed to an island floating below. He headed down. There rest of us joined him. I kept looking back, not trusting my senses to alert me if Void was sneaking up on us. Less than a second after we landed the little island started shaking. It joined with another land mass. And another. Weird mini-continents formed. It made no sense! Then the darkness closed in around us. Just enough light left for me to see the others from four feet away. 

Think this is weird yet? There was more. I noticed strange clumps of what looked like water globules floating around. Visible only as wavy distortions in the air, they floated about the island we landed on. I had no idea what they were until Vegeta backed into one. 

He went from Anime to Real. 

If you think a Super Saiyajin looks fantastic on the show, check one out in the flesh! Vegeta's hair literally glowed as if someone injected pure sunlight into every strand. His aura was the corona, a golden fire dancing off his scarred skin...brilliant against the black background. I saw different scars all down his arms and a long line that started at the corner of his left eye and drew a curving line down to his jaw. The scars were visible only as small, raised spots slightly paler than his tanned flesh. I just happened to be two feet away from him and got a really good look. He had a fierce face - deep-set asian eyes that gleamed turquoise like Paul Atreides' in the modern remake of the movie Dune. So eerie! He also had prominent cheekbones and sharp, thin lips. And his sweaty, glistening body - dear God, he put pro-wrestlers to shame. They don't call him the Saiyajin Prince for nothing. 

Vegeta had just enough time to look down at himself. Then the little "pocket" moved on, surrounding Piccolo and making him flesh. His sweat-festooned brow knit. Curvy lips pulled back to reveal one gleaming white fang. Then he blasted the distortion away with a weak ki ball from his palm. I just hoped there weren't any more floating around. How would such a dimensional tear affect me or Freeza? Neither of us can afford to suddenly lose power in the middle of being attacked! 

I clutched nervously at Piccolo's belt. He didn't stop me. "I don't like it, Piccolo. This is freaking me out." 

"Keep your cool," Piccolo replied. He was studying our new surroundings intently. The wheels were turning in his head. He narrowed his dark eyes. "I can't pinpoint her power level! It's like she's everywhere! Vegeta, can you locate her?" 

"No," came the annoyed reply. 

"Freeza?" 

"No luck." 

I started hearing leather-scratching noises. They sounded _huge_. **Scritch-scritch, scritch-scritch, scritch-scritch!**

It circled around, out of sight. Just like that part in The Scorpion King where the Rock ran around the outer edge of a quicksand cave. All you heard was the sound of his swords whipping about as he took the bad guys out without their comrades noticing. It was better in the theater with surround sound. Now the situation became all too real. I didn't like it. 

My heart squeezed in on itself. I rested my body harder against Piccolo's side. Freeza and Vegeta scooted closer to us. If we clumped together we'd be harder to grab. We stood back to back in a circle, each in our respective fighting stance - Piccolo and I hunched down with our hands curled into claws, Vegeta holding both fists up like a boxer and Freeza bent forward slightly with his fists clenched and both arms at right angles to his body. His tail twitched occasionally. 

The scraping noises grew louder. I breathed faster and pressed my hip nervously against Piccolo's thigh for reassurance. My own heartbeat thudded in my ears. I felt like I couldn't breathe in enough air. 

_Don't worry kid, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise._ Piccolo's calm voice entered my mind. He said the same thing to Gohan all those years ago and made good on it. I believed him. _Deep, slow breaths, Cyndi. Deep, slow breaths_. 

Deep, slow breaths. I forced myself to follow Piccolo's advice. It forced my heartbeat to slow down. 

"Ooh, now who's scared, hm? Where did all your bravado go?" Void's guttural voice emanated from everywhere. 

"Show yourself!" Vegeta taunted, "You call us cowards when you won't leave the shadows! Come out and fight like a true warrior!" 

"Shhh! Don't rile her up," Freeza hissed. 

Void went on, "All in good time, little ones, all in good time." 

I smelled ozone. The air heated up. Half our land-mass exploded! Debris flew everywhere. A massive dust plume spiraled up around us, limiting our vision even more. Freeza, Vegeta and Piccolo all cursed under their breath. I just focused on not sneezing - I'm allergic to dust! 

Booming laughter. Everywhere. Surround sound from hell. 

Piccolo bore his sharp fangs, "Damn, I can't locate her!" 

The ground rumbled. 

Okay, I was getting tired of this. I pressed down on my energy, making my aura flare. I hate being scared...after a while I just get mad. "Void, you stupid piece of shit! Get out here!" 

Another blast. This time almost on top of us! 

"Let's get away from here!" Piccolo tugged my arm forward. He pointed ahead at the untouched flat area ahead. "C'mon, this way." 

We made a run for it. Pounding our feet into the moon-like ground. I felt like my heart was about to explode because it beat so fast. What if we were running right into Void's clutches? Vegeta blasted another dimensional "pocket" out of our path. He looked just as frustrated as me. 

Another earthquake almost sent everybody sprawling. Freeza almost fell off the edge of our floating island. He was lucky he fell onto his back or we might've never seen him again. The ground shook again. Harder than last time. Cracks snaked along between my feet. My legs moved apart. The land was splitting! 

Piccolo hauled me backwards. Another crack formed. The ground split again! Freeza, Vegeta, Piccolo and myself now stood on our own tiny islands. Strong winds blasted my hair back, stinging the wound on my left arm. 

"What's happening?!" 

"I dunno!" I barely heard Piccolo over the wind, "Just stay where you are!" 

Vegeta snarled a word I won't repeat. "She's toying with us!" 

"This sucks!" Freeza chimed in. 

Sometimes I just can't help myself. "No, it blows!" 

That broke some of the tension...for about three seconds. 

An immense shape rose between our islands. Up and up in the darkness. Massive. Skyscraper sized! Booming laughter roared like thunder. Void's laughter. 

How did she get so huge?! How are we going to beat her?! 

It was Freeza who acted first. He jumped forward with an arm out, his other hand clutching his wrist. I didn't know he could trap something THAT big in his imprisonment ball! 

"Guys! Help me, I can't hold her forever!" 

I charged my ki. Held my hands out to reinforce the energy Freeza put into the ki ball. Void's movements diminished. Piccolo joined in. The ball glowed a mix of green and yellow. Vegeta's angry blue showed up a moment later. I can't say what position he took - he was hidden from view behind Void's bulk. All I saw was a luminous orb surrounded in power. 

The combined energy shook our little islands. Shockwaves blasted into the darkness. Freeza's ball kept trying to explode while our energy forced it to remain intact. Void powered up inside. More shockwaves. I almost lost my footing. Piccolo screamed. How do we fight her when we can't drop the shield?! 

My power drained fast. I sensed the others weakening as well. Ki doesn't last forever. And it took so much just to keep Void contained. 

"Remember the Believers!" Piccolo shouted to me, "They're with us! Draw on their power!" 

Right then I felt you there. All of you. Believe... 

Something floated by, illuminated in the tangles of lightning coming off Void's frame. Round, woven in the center - the giant dream catcher! It floated upwards as if alive. It carried a massive energy signal. Millions of ki's. 

"Look! Up above Void!" 

"I see it!" Freeza shouted. He'd been forced down to one knee by his own power. 

Piccolo growled in concentration, "Where did it come from?" 

"Who cares!" 

The dream catcher stopped above Void's head. It turned luminous white and started spinning. Faster and faster until it looked like a miniature star shining in the sky. It shot off long, white lines of energy that escaped into the distance. Millions of them. They just kept coming! 

You're one of them, Believer. Can you feel your power? 

The earthquakes increased in strength. More ki streams emerged in the distance. Up above and below I saw white criss-cross patterns against the blackness. Each of them belonging to a person reading this right now. 

"They found us!" I slumped to my knees and struggled against fatigue. Even Vegeta was losing his focus. 

Energy passed through Vegeta and me, circled around and soared into Freeza and Piccolo. I felt instantly refreshed! It was you going through us! 

Renewed, we all reinforced the energy ball pinning Void in place. She kept cursing us. Cruel words were the only weapon she had left. 

Tiny stars twinkled in the distance. The energy lines were coming back! They shot out from all directions. Poof, poof, poof, poof...I heard thousands of tiny impacts. Each stream impaling Void inside the sphere. She screamed bloody murder. One slammed into the carapace between her eyes and exited the back of her head. Everyone she absorbed exploded to freedom. Father Jim floated out. I saw a redheaded woman and a little girl, probably Freeza's wife and daughter. Then my parents and a slew of other people. Many of them jumped into the spinning dream catcher. Others became pure ki to join the others already picking Void apart. 

More and more energy streaked through Void's massive black body. The ki ball wavered. I saw her immense face emerge. Bloody tears raced down her cheeks. She arched herself and I heard her scream. Then her entire form turned brilliant white. 

Piccolo came out of nowhere. He practically clotheslined me to the ground! "Everybody hit the dirt!" 

I couldn't see if the others did so. I just peeked out form under my arm to watch Void. 

The ki shield was gone, but the energy streams held her in place. It looked like she was trapped inside a spherical dream catcher. More ki's poured into her. White light shot from Void's mouth and eyes. Her whole body shone brilliantly. She arched again and shattered like glass! 

**_KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!_**

Void's scream faded. 

Piccolo and I looked up. A stream of light emanated from the dream catcher to envelope the energy weave and shattered pieces of Void floating in the air. It stopped its mad twirl and spun in the opposite direction. The whole mass turned into a luminous white whirlwind with the dream catcher at the center! 

It shrank. Smaller and smaller until...WHOOSH! Our original dreamscape of Namek reappeared. The dream catcher stopped twirling and dropped to the ground. Its hot white glow faded as it wobbled to a halt in the grass, smoke rising around its edges. I heard sizzling noises. Then all was quiet. 

Piccolo's hot breath grazed my ear. Until then I'd forgotten he was using his own body like a shield over mine. I felt a little sad when he scooted off and stood up - I was enjoying his muscles! I dropped out of Super Saiyajin mode, pushed myself to my feet and took a look around. 

"Did we just win?" 

"I think so...I don't sense Void's power anywhere." He flashed a rare smile, "Thank you, Believers." 

Freeza lay sprawled out on his back. Somewhere during this mess he powered down to his normal shape. He reminded me of a doll just unwrapped from its package. Or he would if he wasn't bruised and covered in dust. 

Vegeta powered down and hauled himself upright at the same time Freeza got to his feet. Freeza came over to us with a big smile on his dirty white face. "She's gone! Totally obliterated! That was amazing, wasn't it? It's over!" He leaned over to give me a bear hug that lifted me off the ground. I kicked my feet and laughed. He chuckled with me. 

"Freeza." 

The laughing stopped. Piccolo rumbled in his throat. I looked over Freeza's shoulder. Freeza put me down and turned around to face Vegeta. "Yes, Vegeta?" 

The Saiyajin Prince didn't smile or say a word. He just stuck a hand out and waited, his face unreadable as ever. Freeza's red eyes looked down at the offering. Then he met Vegeta's gaze, took his hand and both gave a firm shake. 

"You aren't what I thought you were." Was all Vegeta said. He walked off after that, probably to be alone. Freeza nodded to him, sighed and wiped sweat off his brow. 

Piccolo materialized his clothes, weighted gear and all. His skin was a mess, but at least his clothes were intact! Too bad - I enjoyed seeing him without his shirt. 

"Look ma, it's pa!" Came a tiny voice that carried a distinctive Australian ring. 

Freeza's eyes became saucers. He looked to his right and there stood a little redheaded girl, holding a stuffed kangaroo. She wore light pink pajamas. Freeza was ready to faint! "How did you recognize me, Lex?" 

Alexis ran up to Freeza and jumped into his arms without answering. She put her head down on his shoulder and cooed, "The meanie gone walkabout." 

"Yeah." Freeza settled his daughter onto his hip and petted her curly red hair. "The meanie's gone." 

Another voice called, "'oly-dooley! Anty?! What the 'eck did you do to yourself?" 

That must be Cathy. She walked up to Freeza with her red braid swinging behind her back and eyed him up and down. They were about the same height. Aww, how cute! I grabbed Piccolo's arm and pointed to the couple. 

Freeza reached up and petted Cathy's head like he did Alexis. "I'll explain everything when I get back home. It was all a nightmare and it's over now. Wait for me when you get up." He winked at her, glanced our way and smiled crookedly. He went on. "I'll be there soon to cook up some meat pies." 

"Right-o. See ya," Cathy grinned. "You're a real beauty, ya know." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and took Alexis into her arms. Freeza promptly blushed from chin to forehead. Cathy waved to us, not really afraid of Piccolo(a tall green man wouldn't be too scary after dealing with Void), and give Freeza another long once-over. They exchanged smiles. Then Cathy and Alexis faded to the land of consciousness. 

"Ahhh." Freeza remarked, his eyes faraway and dreamy. "My girls...I love 'em." 

Piccolo released a huge snort. Chuckling, he said, "Looks like you have your hands full with those two." 

"Heh, yeah! Wouldn't have it any other way." 

I giggled and jumped into Piccolo's arms, giving him a surprise peck on the lips. "Who says he's the only one with his hands full?" 

Piccolo caught me easily, "Kid," he glared at me. A mocking glare, "As small as you are, I'm surprised you even _have_ a handful." 

Did he just make an innuendo? His smirk suggested so. Oh my God! 

"FfffftHAHAHAHAHAH!" Freeza was the first one to burst out laughing. Then Vegeta, myself and finally Piccolo. We all laughed like a bunch of idiots. Glad the nightmare was finally over. 

Thanks to you. 

"See you when we wake up," I told Piccolo. "You owe me a Hershey bar." 

"Sure thing." He put me down, kissed the top of my head and faded before I could react. 

Freeza gave me a thumbs-up. "See ya." 

He still had his thumb up and a grin on his face when he faded. 

"Humph!" Vegeta glared at me. "I'm out of here." 

He crossed his arms and vanished, smirking his head off. 

I took a last look around at Namek. Then I relaxed. Closed my eyes and let myself rise towards consciousness. 


	26. Part TwentyFive

Self-Insertion and nudity warning. May contain a little lime later on, but nothing too explicit(so don't worry if you hate lemon, this shouldn't bother you.:)) Wanna find me in Yahoo? My chat alias is Saiyajin_Cyndi. 

Oh, and if you want to understand some references I make later in the chapter, I strongly recommend you read Confessions of a Believer I and II by Piccolo's Love Slave. I kinda tied my fic into hers a little bit ;) *waves to Ami* I'm not the only one going on wild adventures! 

And no, this isn't the last chapter. People jumped the gun with my last fic, so I figured I'd tell you now :P   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twenty-Five

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"...and people who were previously comatose are starting to wake up. Many of them have no memory of what happened. The cities will be be cleaning up for the next several months, but the nightmare is over! Order will soon be restored..." 

I ignored the news on TV. My attention was focused only on one thing. 

Sitting on the table before me was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. It rose at least a foot tall and gleamed with shiny brown goo running down the sides. I leaned over and inhaled its intoxicating aroma. My mind twirled in happy circles and my mouth watered. Every inch of myself pulled towards it. I needed it like a drug. It was my life. 

"Oh I missed you..." I said lovingly to the chocolate mud-pie. 

Freeza's chair creaked. He leaned over until his sharp black horn nearly poked my ear. Out came the accented voice I missed the whole time we fought Void, "Don't gawk at your chokkie, 'luv. Bog in. Otherwise I might be tempted to nab it." 

I laughed, "Get your own! Hey, where's my spoon? Oh who cares!" I grabbed a handful of the gooey chocolate mess and crammed it into my mouth. More landed on my face than in my mouth. I didn't care. Ohhhhhhhh God it was bliss! Rich sweetness melting in my mouth and dripping down my throat! Chocolate, how I missed thee! 

"Never come between Cyndi and her chocolate," Piccolo advised with a snicker. 

"Humph!" Added Vegeta. 

I ignored everyone and everything. There was only the sweet taste of my chocolate! 

I'd eaten half of it when Freeza cut in, "'ere, lemme 'elp you with that." He pushed my face into the pie! Ka-SPLAT! 

Straightening, I blinked. Sticky chocolate clung all over my face and in my hair. Freeza just about died laughing. Then I 'helped' him with his pie too. SPLAT! Now two chocolate-covered faces hovered above the kitchen table. We cracked up and wiped the fudge mess off on each others' clothes. 

"FOOD FIGHT!" 

Uh oh. 

Next thing I knew, chocolate wads were flying everywhere. At first it started out with just Freeza and I flinging food at each other. It escalated to an all-out assault on Piccolo and Vegeta. Within seconds we'd started catapulting different edible items at one another. Noodles, meatballs, chocolate fudge pieces, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, peas...I nearly died laughing when Freeza doused Vegeta in spaghetti sauce! 

"How dare you!" 

"'avagoyermug!" Freeza said back. More Aussie slang that I didn't understand. 

"Fool!" SPLAT! Freeza now wore a mask of mashed potatoes and gravy. 

Piccolo just stood there and stared up at the ceiling while different food items landed on him. He had a noodle hanging off his ear, fudge dripping down his face salad dressing oozing down his shirt. He didn't even blink when a spaghetti bowl landed upside down on his turban, spilling wet strands and sauce all down his face and body. He looked like a green hippie! 

I pointed and laughed, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!" 

"Ugh," Vegeta lifted his hands, shaking them off. Spaghetti sauce, fudge and peas sloshed off his face and clothes. "You peons! How dare you ruin my meal! Who started this?!" 

Freeza(with noodle-festooned horns) and I pointed at each other. Busted up laughing. Piccolo and Vegeta just picked the food off themselves and grumbled about childish foolishness. 

Needless to say, clean-up took hours! Oh but it was worth it.   
  


I finished showering and went about filling the tub up with hot water. Time to relax for a while. Haven't gotten much chance since we all got back from fighting Void. 

Funny - everybody else just used their ki to clean up. For some reason I just don't feel clean unless I use soap and water. 'Nuff said. The only complaint I have is that Saiyajin hair takes up a lot of shampoo and conditioner. Even then it's almost unmanageable! Each strand has the same texture and stiffness as a piece of tiny copper wire inside an electric cord. 

Anyway, I'd just settled down into the warm water when someone tapped on the door. I covered myself with the shower curtain and called, "Yeah?" 

"Just me," Piccolo's scratchy bass voice answered. 

"Hi, Me." I kidded, "You can come in if you want. I'm just taking a bath in here." 

A quiet rumble-sigh. The door swished open and clicked shut. Aside from a few faint stains and the scents of different foods on his clothes, you'd never know Piccolo was caught in the crossfire of a food fight. He came over and stood next to the tub, looking down at me with those fierce black eyes. "I'm glad the nightmare's over." 

"Me too. Hey, this is a big tub. Take off your clothes and come join me. You did say you'd take a rain-check on our first bath back in the Time Chamber." 

Piccolo shrugged his broad shoulders. "I guess a little warm water won't kill me." 

He slipped his turban off, his antennae flopping down with a gentle swish. Off went the heavy cape and shoulderpads. He slipped his shoes off and reached for his belt. I watched him undress, my heart pounding as more and more of his wonderful body was revealed to me. 

Turns out Piccolo has nothing _there._ The pink patch on his stomach stopped just above his crotch and the skin below it was smooth like his face, chest and hands. I've always wondered what he had down there...so how the heck did he pee? Hm, I guess some things are meant to be unknown. But regardless of what he didn't have, he was still gorgeous to me. 

Piccolo slid down to sit across from me in the tub. His long legs slipped past mine and his narrow feet halted on either side of my butt. He settled back and sighed contentedly. See naked green god. See naked green god take his royal bath. Hehe! Our combined mass displaced the water so much that some overflowed onto the tile floor. Woops. 

I sat up. Crawled forward and settled down on my side next to Piccolo, my head coming to rest on his shoulder. My wild hair floated over to cover his chest. My brown looked good against his green. I pushed my hair away so I could lay my hand on his hard pecs. "I wish I could stay in this world with you. Nobody fully understands me back in my Reality. At least here I know _you_ do." 

"You can't stay here, Cyndi. You don't belong in this Reality any more than I belong in yours." Piccolo stated bluntly without missing a beat. The tile room made his voice seem even deeper. 

"Why not? I don't belong in my dimension either." 

Piccolo shifted a bit. Water sloshed from his movements. I didn't realize what part of him moved until I slipped down and felt his strong arm wrap around my shoulders. His soft voice was almost right in my ear. "Sure you do, kid. There's a place for everybody. The trick is you have to find it." 

"And what if my place is here?" I said back. 

"It isn't. All crossing between our dimensions does is throw the universe slightly off-balance. You belong in your world and I belong in mine. I don't know if you know this or not, but the Lookout and your home exist in the same spot in space...just in different realms. But that's not the point." He sighed through his nose and went on. "If we want to keep both universes balanced, we can't have both necklaces existing in the same dimension for any length of time. Not without having one sealed away, and that's too dangerous. I don't even want to think about what could happen if a necklace fell into the wrong hands." 

"So my place is keeping my necklace safe?" 

The corner of his mouth upturned slightly, "Possibly." 

"Yeah, well..." My throat welled up. I avoided his eyes. "I'm just afraid that one day I'll meet a man in my Reality...we'll fall in love and get married and have kids. Then I'll have to leave you behind. I don't want that to happen, Piccolo. There's something called 'true love', you know. I think you're mine. Doesn't that mean we're supposed to stay together forever?" 

"Only in mushy fairytales and bad romance movies," Piccolo smirked wryly. Then he touched my chin with his long index finger, "Cyndi, look at me." 

I met his gaze. 

"Marrying someone else doesn't mean you have to stop thinking about me. You don't have to stop Believing. As for the future you worry about...if and when that time comes, just put the necklace in its box and hide it in a place where nobody can find it. That way you can take it out from time to time and remember..." He faltered, then added, "us." 

Piccolo always did know how to make me feel better. He wasn't the greatest at solving his own problems, but he was damn good at solving someone else's. 

"Love you," I told him gently. He responded with a small grunt. Typical, but he did part his lips for me when I leaned over and kissed him. 

"Hold your breath." 

"Why?" 

He rolled his eyes. "Just do it." 

I giggled, taking a deep breath. Piccolo turned over and pushed me flat on my back - and twelve inches underwater. I saw his face, a green blur, coming down towards mine. Our lips met, then our tongues. It was utterly silent under the water. Nothing to interrupt us. The rest of the universe didn't exist. Only his soft mouth mingling with mine. 

I couldn't stop thinking of the song _Take My Breath Away_ by Berlin...it just fit with the moment - literally and figuratively. 

Our kiss ended after a blissful eternity. Piccolo pulled me back to the surface where I swallowed lung-fulls of air. My heart throbbed like a machine gun in my chest. Piccolo wordlessly cupped my cheek in his palm and climbed from the tub. One energy wave later, he was dry and putting his clothes back on. I watched him the entire time. My heart swelled with feelings for him. 

Piccolo walked to the door and paused with his hand on the knob. Looked over his shoulder at me. 

He winked! 

Next thing I knew the door had clicked shut and he was gone. Leaving me in my own little bliss. 

I was so sorry to climb out of the tub after that nice warm bath. A quick energy wave had me all dry too. As I dressed myself I couldn't help the curiousness coming over me. I powered up in front of the bathroom mirror and watched myself turn Super Saiyajin. Since I'd done it once, it was easy to do again. You'd think my Yajirobe-style hair would do something cool, right? 

...I looked like Super Saiyajin Three Gotenks! Argh! No wonder Piccolo thought I looked funny. How come all the other Super Saiyajins get to look so cool? 

Whatever. I finished dressing, powered down and headed out.   
  


It's been years since I was last able to sit on a beach. Warm sand between my toes, hot sunlight beating down, the sound of waves crashing into the shore and spraying me with cool mist. I marveled at all the different shades of white, blue and brown all around. Piccolo didn't seem to be appreciating the view much. He just meditated quietly. Silly, considering Freeza and I INSISTED he wear a pair of swim-trunks! 

I don't know which view was better. The beach or Piccolo! 

And Vegeta? Haven't seen him since he borrowed one of the necklaces and took off. Chasing him down was fun, he popped out in an Anime convention and threw my necklace back at me! That was pretty funny! Especially since someone made him work a counter selling DBZ figures. When I last saw him he seemed busy having a conversation with a young woman holding a Vegeta figurine. 

Vegeta looked just as fierce as the last time I saw him turn Real. Except his hair was swept back more and very dark. His eyes were a shade of brown so dark they looked black. Only bright light would reveal the truth. Funny, considering Piccolo's eyes are just as black in the Anime realm, yet in Reality you can easily see the dark gray surrounding his pupils in normal light. Dim light makes them black. 

Strange. 

Anyhow, the convention was fun until Piccolo got tired of people poking at his cape. He's not into being touchy-feely. So we took off. On the way out I saw the same girl again. She watched us intently. So I told her to Believe, winked and headed off with Piccolo and Vegeta. Vegeta wanted to go right home. Freeza and I wanted to hang out one more time before he had to go. Piccolo didn't care either way, so we _dragged_ him along! 

Now here we are, at the beach catching some sun. 

I've also learned something else. Never let Freeza loose when the waves are good. 

"WHOAAAAAAAAAA!" 

I watched the petite alien stand up on the shiny purple surfboard and bend his knees to ride a huge wave. He made it look so easy. However I don't think he remembered to compensate for his tail and lack of two extra toes per foot. He did a huge backflip and toppled in a spectacular wipeout. The surfboard popped up. Freeza's shiny head surfaced seconds later. A huge grin twisted his black lips upwards. "C'mon, give it a go!" 

"Noooooo thank you. I don't want my top falling off!" 

Yes I was worried about that. At the moment I wore one of Bulma's old, old, oooooold bathing suits. A black bikini with a strapless top that tied in the back. Of course she had more boobage than me when she was a teenager. So the top was a little loose. Tying it tight was the only reason it didn't slip down to my hips. I didn't want it coming untied. With the waves I saw it would get washed out to sea and I'd never see it again. 

"Awww c'mon...surfin's no fun without a - " Another wave dunked him before he could finish. He came up laughing, "Damn ocean! Quit beatin' me up." 

So much for surfing. 

Freeza came ashore with his board under one arm. He tossed it down and flopped onto the towel next to mine. Water sloshed off his body, sand clinging to his feet and tail. "What's with Piccolo over there? The bloke 'asn't moved since 'e sat down." 

Piccolo ignored him. 

"I think he's just sour because we dragged him out here." 

"Feh." Was all Piccolo had to say. "I hate saltwater." 

Freeza jackknifed into a sitting position. He smiled at something silly. "Bah, all this surfin' and I almost forgot I've gotta get 'ome. Cathy and Lexy are waitin' for me. I've got meat pies to cook and a bar to run." 

"Aww, leaving so soon?" 

Piccolo finally picked his head up. Poof! his regular clothes materialized in a cloud of white smoke. He got to his full imposing height without a word. 

"Yeah, 'fraid so." Freeza gave my shoulder a pat and moved his hand down around to my back. His red eyes always carried a smile. "C'mon, let's all get cleaned up again and 'ead back to the Lookout place." 

Little did I realize he was up to something. 

Then my top fell off. 

My hands flew to cover myself. Not that I had anything to cover. "FREEZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I scream as shrill as I could manage. It made Piccolo wince. 

Freeza laughed and threw the meager garment at Piccolo. "Catch!" 

Piccolo chuckled. He caught the top and tossed it back to Freeza. I couldn't do anything without moving my hands. And if I moved my hands I'd be on display! 

"Grr!" But then I got an idea. I used my hair as cover and chased Freeza all the way down to the end of the beach. Calling him a pervert, a butthead and a peeping Tom the whole way. He just laughed and laughed! 

I got even when I caught up to him. How, you ask? 

I yanked his board shorts down. Alllllllll the way down(not easy, considering his tail...). I smacked his bare butt. "Nice ass, Freeza!" 

"Oy!" Freeza instantly grabbed his crotch to cover up. As soon as he surrendered my top, I shoved him into the surf. He fixed his shorts and mock-glared at me. I tied my top back on, glaring back at him. Then we both cracked up like a couple of idiots. 

Piccolo just walked off, shaking his head at our antics. Freeza and I watched him go and gave each other a high-five. 

What a day...   
  


I hate goodbyes. They feel so final. Even if they're not forever. 

The cleanup, getting dressed and packing didn't carry the usual banter. Everyone was quiet. Somber. We all knew our time together would end eventually. I guess it always comes sooner than you feel like it should be. At least that's how I see it. Freeza's so fun to hang around with. He had the same sense of humor as I do. Trust me, if we got a second alone we'd swap dirty jokes and snicker amongst ourselves. 

Freeza popped his duffle bag into its capsule. He zipped up his red boomerang jacket and smiled. "I'm all set. Let's 'ope Cathy and Lexy aren't gettin' too worried 'bout me." 

"Nah. Time passes different here. I wouldn't be surprised if little to no time passed back in the Real world." 

"I see." 

"Oh!" I stole a piece of paper from a tablet on a nearby table and wrote down the address for where I live now. "Here, so you can write to me if you want to. Mr. Aferez," I chuckled. "What gave you the idea to scramble up your name and use it as your surname?" 

Freeza took the paper in his delicate hand and tucked it into his jacket pocket. His black lips smiled, "Dunno. Guess I just wanted to keep some part of my past self as a reminder." He glanced my way, "'ey, don't get all clucky just cuz I'm goin' away. We can still chew the fat through letters, right?" 

I felt my cheeks warm up. "Yeah." 

"There, see?" He brightened, "It'll be apples, 'luv." 

"So you're leaving." 

Both of us spun towards the rough voice. There stood Vegeta in the doorway - wearing a pair of jeans and a black flannel shirt with all the buttons undone. He appeared groggy as if he just woke up after dozing off in front of the TV. To prove my point he wiped a hand across his eyes to remove the sleepy goo leftover from his nap. 

Freeza's horned head tilted, "Yeah. Gotta take care of the cook and my baby girl." 

Vegeta's thick eyebrows went up. "How did you manage to live in the twig girl's Reality when you look like that? I didn't exactly see anyone naturally born with horns. Then again...who knows. Some of the costumes I saw were ridiculous. One fool tried to be Trunks, but had the jacket all wrong. Pathetic." 

I stifled a giggle fit. Vegeta had no clue! 

"I guess it's my little secret," The small Icejin winked one eye and elbowed me hard in the ribs. I just about fell over laughing. Poor Vegeta, he didn't have any idea what I found so funny. 

That was also the moment my tail grew back. I felt a little pop on my tailbone and there it was, waving at me! "AHH! Stupid tail!" 

"Foolish girl." Vegeta snorted rudely, turning his nose up at me. "Well anyway, I must go now. More important matters to attend to than you two clowns." 

I giggled some more, "Aww, is the little Princy-poo cranky?" 

"Grrr....SHUT UP!" And with that, Vegeta left. So much for saying goodbye to him. He'd be a great guy if he wasn't such a JERK to me all the time! 

"Maybe you should take your meds." Freeza pointed to my pill bottle, which was sitting on a tray near the bed. 

I popped a pill, grumbling as I stuffed the bottle into my pocket. Right next to the Capsule containing my stuff. "Almost forgot, as usual." 

I ran out of things to say after that. Freeza waited over by the window with both fists clasped behind his back. Not even years of living in the human world could erase that pose. "Ya know, 'avin' Vegeta finally see the light took a lotta' weight offa' my shoulders. That guy's a bloody pain in the arse to get 'long with." 

"Yeah, I know." 

A shadow passed the window. Freeza glanced over his shoulder, "'ere comes Piccolo. Go meet 'im 'alfway. I gotta use the loo before we buzz off." 

Without saying anything, I followed Freeza out of the room. He ducked into the bathroom while I continued straight ahead into the living room. There stood Piccolo - tall and imposing as ever. Standing by the wall was...I had to look again...it looked like that girl Vegeta was talking to at the convention. No, wait, it really was her! 

Heh, well, well, well, this was the first time I ever met a Believer face to face! 

I hope it won't be the last. 

"Here," Piccolo handed me my necklace, "You do the honors. She needs to go home just like you do." 

I took the necklace by the chain. The stars on the orange bauble glittered hopefully as it swung gently below my fist. "Okay, sure." 

Now I hope she doesn't hold this against me later, but I have no recollection of what I said to her on the way to the nearest mirror. Except that I told her to write about her adventure. Sometimes my mind blanks out on me like that. I hope she writes a fantastic tale. The world needs to Believe. 

A toilet flushed and Freeza popped out of the bathroom. He fanned the air behind his butt. It took the smell a while to waft in my direction. I instantly covered my nose with a hand. And I thought I took nasty dumps! "Ugh! Did you poop out a dead animal or something?!" 

"It was the beans," Freeza said sheepishly. "They give me troubles." 

I grinned, "Beans, beans, the magical fruit!" 

Freeza joined in, "The magical fruit that makes you toot!" 

Piccolo appeared ready to say something. Then he rolled his eyes. It obviously wasn't worth it. "....feh."   
  


Nobody spoke as Piccolo, Freeza and myself landed out in the middle of the desert. Piccolo pulled a Capsule from his belt and tossed it. Out came a full-length mirror on a stand. Through it I saw images of a black leather sofa, a high-definition TV and a few toys littering the wooden floor. Beyond that, a window with a wonderful view of Sydney, Australia. 

"Ahhh, 'ome sweet 'ome." Freeza smiled. "Well, mates, I guess this is it." 

Piccolo nodded to him. "It was good to see you again. Take care of yourself and your family." 

"Sure thing." Then Freeza turned to me. I noticed his eyes were a tiny bit moist. 

I teared up a bit too. "I hate goodbyes..." 

The Icejin sniffled, rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Come to think of it, so do I. But they gotta be done. Oh just come 'ere." He caught me up in a bear hug that I quickly returned. He's a squeezer when he hugs people! "Just be'ave yourself." 

"No way!" 

We both chuckled. Even while sad we still came up with funny smart-ass comments. 

"I 'ad a bonzer time 'ere. Just wanted to let you know." Freeza stopped hugging first. We exchanged what I call a 'friendly kiss', where we twist our lips sideways and kiss each other's cheek at the same time. Then he stepped back and sighed. "I guess we can't put this off anymore. I gotta buzz off...already 'ad to chuck a sickie once this week." He didn't explain why, but I'm guessing he went surfing. " Any'ow mate, 'ooroo!" 

Piccolo snickered under his breath. I guess Freeza's humor even rubbed off on him after awhile. "Go on and cook your pies." 

I saw Freeza grin like a cheshire cat. He about-faced and hopped through the mirror. His body disappeared in a shimmer, reappearing again as a slightly-taller human man. Same dark Matt Hardy hairstyle and narrow brown eyes. Cathy was a lucky woman - Freeza makes an adorable human! 

Freeza waved over his shoulder and vanished into his living room. The mirror stopped rippling. He was gone. Back to his home and his family. 

The mirror poofed back into a Capsule. 

"Are you okay, kid?" 

"Yeah...I'm fine." 

Piccolo's large hand brushed over the top of my head. A huge gust of wind blew past, stirring up Piccolo's cape and my hair. Clouds of sand rose in the distance. He sneered at it, "C'mon, let's head back to the Lookout before that sandstorm gets here."   
  


Being in the Anime world for so long made my own still-dark room seem strange to me. Kind of like a movie you've forgotten, but you remember it as it happens. My familiar pink-roses-on-a-white-background bedspread, my computer and everything else. It all came back in a rush. I do recall it being about one-thirty in the morning when I first left. The clock now said five o'clock sharp. It probably would've been earlier if I didn't lose two hours chasing Vegeta down at the convention. Or maybe it was five a.m. on a different day. I flicked the TV on and checked the date on the digital cable menu. Yeah, a day did go by. Not bad, considering the length of time I was gone. I shut the TV off again. 

Utter weirdness. I'm picking my life up where I left off. 

I climbed over my bed and picked up my flashlight. On the end it had a normal light. The side contained a black light. Sheer curiosity made me flick the black light on. Suddenly my bedspread, curtains and Piccolo's cape glowed neon white. Piccolo curled his lip, showing a hint of fang. It glowed too! Really eerie, seeing as the light turned his skin black! 

"Hey Piccolo, grin for me." 

Piccolo did what I said. He flashed a very mean-looking grin with glowing fangs. _Awesome_. "Happy now?" 

"Heh, yeah," I quickly grew bored with the black light and turned it off. A brief check out the window revealed my dad's silver car was missing from the driveway. Mom's junky brown Honda still sat there, the windows fogged up with dew. "I wonder if my parents ever noticed I was gone when they woke up. Probably not, seeing as my dad's car is gone. He gets up way too early to go to work. Mom obviously went back to bed...I can hear her snoring with the door shut." My poor mom, she had a sinus infection. Normally she'd never snore so loud. 

I lifted the hard-bristled hairbrush off my dresser and started absently brushing my hair. Thinking to myself that it was probably better if my parents didn't remember any of this. 

"Maybe it's best they don't remember what happened. Too much to explain." Piccolo stated exactly what just went through my mind. He stood there for the longest time, watching me brush my hair. 

His gaze made me blush. What was he staring at? "Ever brushed a woman's hair before?" 

Piccolo made a non-committal noise. As usual he answered without using words. 

"Hm, well there's a first for everything." I grabbed his right hand and slapped the handle of the brush onto his palm. 

"You enjoy embarrassing me." He said flatly - making me giggle. Poor guy, I always put him on the spot, don't I? 

Piccolo looked down at the brush, cleared his throat and sat down on the edge of my bed. His weight made the whole mattress sag on one side. "Are you sure I won't just yank it out?" 

"Piccolo...don't worry. I'll say something if you pull too hard. Just brush slower if you find a tangle, that's all. Not much to it otherwise." I smiled shyly at him and turned around, presenting him with my knee-length mane. "C'mon, what are you gonna do if you wind up babysitting Pan and have to brush her hair?" 

"Her hair's considerably shorter than yours, kid." Piccolo sounded amused. A second later I felt the long plastic bristles touch my scalp and slide down with a soft swishing noise. It happened again. And again. I enjoy brushing my hair a lot, but I _looooove_ it when someone else does it for me. It has a calming effect one me. Similar to the contentment a cat displays while being stroked. At the same time I felt myself filling with desire. It just...I dunno...seemed so intimate. I don't let just 'anyone' touch my hair. 

Piccolo's breaths came slightly louder than before. He placed the brush back on my dresser. Gentle fingers closed around my hair and held it like a ponytail, then let it go. "How long do you plan on letting it grow?" 

"To my ankles. I'm pretty sure it'll get that long...considering how long it is now. It may take me ten years, but I'm patient." I smirked, "I like to joke around by saying 'everything about me is short except for my hair'." 

"Heh, heh. Sounds like a perfect description of you." The mattress creaked. 

Without looking I knew Piccolo was standing up again. Something hard poked me in the back. When I turned around and realized what it was, I blushed. "Goodness, Piccolo! You enjoyed that didn't you?" 

Piccolo looked down at himself. Purple gradually collected in his cheeks and ears. His teardrop nose wrinkled. He didn't say anything. 

"Aww, you're so cute!" I climbed onto my bed to equalize our heights and hugged him tightly. So tight that I heard him release a little puff of air. His ear was in perfect reach...I tickled it with my tongue. Dunno why, sometimes I'm impulsive like that. Piccolo gasped and wrapped an arm tightly around my waist, crushing me against his chest. I felt his heart throbbing. He stared fiercely at me with dilating eyes. Clearly at war with his emotions. Back in his world those feelings are trapped with no way out. But in my world it _was_ possible for him to release the tension. 

It would be the perfect way to say goodbye. To remind him just how much I loved him. 

I grasped the front of his abundant collar and yanked him forward for another kiss. Piccolo responded with a tiny "oof!" just before our lips smashed together. I slid my fingers up and massaged the sensitive skin behind his ears. His body temperature instantly went up. He breathed deeper. Our kisses grew more desperate. Piccolo's hands slithered up the back of my head, long fingers entangling themselves in my hair. 

"Okay..." the handsome green man drew back, breathless. "...you've convinced me. I'll stay awhile." 

"Good..." long kiss, "I'm glad I'm so..." another kiss, "...persuasive." 

He smiled at me - a real smile - easily visible in the darkness of my room. 

Next thing I knew we were naked and between the sheets. Making love to each other in the same bed I sleep in every night. I rode Piccolo just like I did in my dream while in the Time Chamber. He laid there beneath me...eyes glazed and mouth partly open. So precious and vulnerable. When his moment came, Piccolo moaned hoarsely and arched into me, strong arms pulling me tight against his heaving chest. Then he sank back with a sigh. The power of our joining reached me a few moments later. 

"Piccolo," I leaned up and showered his face in kisses. Then I sank against his strong body, surrounded by the dusty desert scent that clung to his skin like natural cologne. "I love you..." 

As usual, Piccolo didn't reply with words. There was only the soft warmth of his lips touching the top of my head and a gentle hand squeezing my shoulder. He was still hugging me when he fell asleep. 

I drifted off as well - praying that he'd still be there when I woke up. 


	27. Part TwentySix

Self-insertion and nudity warning. This isn't the last chapter either, but it's a little shorter than the rest. :P Can you believe I started and finished this on the same day?! I surprised even myself!   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Part Twenty-Six

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The first thing I remember when I opened my eyes was the feel of a hard body sleeping beneath me. I picked my head up and looked down. Piccolo had his head turned to one side, his face completely relaxed and his slender antennae draped gently in whichever way they chose to fall. Breath puffed gently in and out through his parted lips. Sometimes his face and eyelids twitched. His clear emerald skin contrasted against my white pillow. 

Piccolo isn't without scars either. I realized this as I stared down at his face. Like Vegeta, they were slightly paler than the rest of his flesh. Only one marked his face - a thin vertical line between his antennae from the time I yanked on them to wake him up. I guess the split ran deeper than I thought. It's funny, the scar isn't visible unless his face relaxes. And you all know how Piccolo is _always_ frowning about something. He needs a World's Sexiest Scowl award. 

With one finger I traced the sharp curve of his ear and the abrupt point of his nose. I love doing that. Then I inched upwards to kiss the scar on his brow. 

"You are the most gorgeous living thing I've ever seen..." 

Piccolo stirred a little. He moved his arms off my body and shifted against the sheets. I quietly slid off the bed -and him- just in case he decided to roll over. But he didn't. He just moved his legs around and sighed. 

_Piccolo is sleeping naked on my bed. It just doesn't get any better than this,_ I grinned to myself. Piccolo is so tall his feet reached way beyond the foot of the mattress! He looked so comfortable all stretched out like that, one arm behind his head, the other on his muscular chest, legs bent slightly and his _ahem_ flopped over to one side. Either it was standing up and going limp or limp and starting to stand up. Couldn't decide. But dammit, it made him look so relaxed after a nice round of lovemaking. Hehe! I wish I had a camera... 

I quit gawking. Took the pill I had set up next to my computer and started getting dressed. Gray DBZ T-shirt and jean shorts. Then I donned all my usual jewelry - ring on each finger and my gold watch. I checked the time. Nine-fifteen. The time I normally wake up in the morning. Good, my routine won't be too messed up after all. 

Nothing much happened until I went into the bathroom. I started hearing the sheets move. A little grunt-sigh. The rustle of clothes being put on. I'd just flushed the toilet when Piccolo ducked out into the hallway, looking pretty disheveled. Antennae hanging in his face. Barefoot. Belt undone. Pants hanging loose and shirt un-tucked. For some reason I found that look to be incredibly sexy. He immediately assumed 'The Position' in front of the toilet. 

I saw him and gasped, "Uh-uh!" And put the toilet seat up. "Always put the seat up before you go. Otherwise you'll make a mess. Just make sure to put it down when you're done." 

Piccolo scowled down at the toilet, "You women are impossible." 

"I know." I giggled, sliding out to give him some privacy. I headed out into the kitchen, poured a bowl of Cocoa Krispies and munched away. Cutie Pie finished scraping around in the litter box, which is set up right by the back door. She slithered out, shook herself and headed for my bedroom, fuzzy black tail held erect behind her. 

As usual Piccolo didn't bother to flush the toilet when he finished. He just came wandering out to the kitchen, adjusting his clothing as he went. "Where did your mother go?" 

"Church." Munch, munch, munch. "She does volunteer work there. Feeding poor people and stuff. My mom would take her left arm off and give it to an armless stranger if they asked her to." 

"Hm." Piccolo eyed my cereal and touched his stomach. It growled. Loud. Had he been in the Anime world right now, I think he would've sweatdropped. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this hunger thing." 

That made me laugh. "Sit at the table and hang on a sec." 

He did so. The wooden chair creaked in protest. Crunching from the kibbles bowl echoed the creak. I glanced over and saw my black kitty, Dickens, gobbling away. She stopped eating. Approached Piccolo's feet, sniffed cautiously and made a hasty retreat to go hide somewhere. Probably under mom's bed. 

I poured a second bowl of cereal and set it down on the table in front of him. Then I handed him the spoon and sat down opposite to him. Piccolo watched me eat for quite some time. Probably to see how I got the food from the bowl to my mouth. He copied me. The only differences is he slurped. A _lot._ Kind of funny. 

"Just so you know, Piccolo, that stuff is chocolate-flavored." 

Piccolo licked his spoon and gazed across the table at me. "It's not too bad. What about the leftover milk?" 

"Like this, big guy." I put my spoon down, picked up my bowl and drank. Piccolo did the same. He then presented me with the biggest milk-mustache in history. Kind of brownish-white. A sweep of his tongue removed it. 

An awkward, uncomfortable silence came between us. Nothing but the soft ticking of mom's teddy bear clock on the wall behind me and dull roaring sounds of the freeway filtering in through the open kitchen window. I didn't dare think too much for fear of Piccolo picking up on my thoughts. Instead, silently, I stared across the table at the handsome green creature sitting in my kitchen. 

His features looked a little more mature than they did when we first met. Except in over ten years(his time) he only changed as much as a person between their freshman and senior years of high school. Which isn't much, unless of course the person alters their hairstyle/color, got glasses, etc. Come to think of it...his features made him look like someone from India or Saudi Arabia. Same lithe features and, of course, his clothes. Had he been human he probably would've had very tan skin, thick eyebrows and gorgeous black hair falling all around his shoulders and back. 

But I liked him better as a Namek. 

An idea hit me. "Hey, Piccolo? Let's watch a movie. I have one with a lot of cool ki-like fighting in it...you'll like it." 

That got his attention. "Oh?" 

I picked our bowls up and dumped them in the kitchen sink. "Yeah, hold on." 

A moment later, Piccolo and I were sitting on the living room floor in front of the TV. Well, he sat in his usual lotus position...I was cuddled up against his side. I think he only tolerated my affection. Our eyes were glued to the TV screen. Techno music blasted from the speakers. 

Piccolo picked up the movie box and examined the cover. "_Mortal Kombat?_" 

I gave one of his antennae a gentle flick. "Trust me on this one." 

"Whatever you say." He looked again at the screen, his tongue working against the inside of his cheek.   
  


White credits rolled up against a black background. The movie's theme song banged out its rhythm. 

Piccolo glanced down at me, "Surprisingly, I liked that. Usually I can't _stand_ movies," He chuckled, amused, "That Goro guy reminded me a little of Void..." 

"Heh, well he does have four arms. Just how he is." I went through the routine of rewinding the tape and shoving it back into the box. 

A grunt sounded behind me. "I think you need something more...with all that jewelry you wear." 

"Eh?" 

He pointed to my feet and...flash! Suddenly I had a toe ring on each toe(except my big toes) and three silver anklets on each ankle. One of which was a little circlet with a tiny bell between each shooting star charm. Wow, I always wanted toe rings and anklets! Especially ones that fit! 

I dove at Piccolo, catching him in a huge hug, "Oh my God! They're so cute!" 

"I - OOF!" 

Grinning, I gave him a smooch and poked his nose. "See? You're a great guy." 

Piccolo's nose twitched when I poked it. He glared at me, tightening his curvy lips until folds appeared around them. Even though he knew it wouldn't deter my affection. Finally he took something from his belt. I felt pressure against my back pocket as he tucked something into it and gave my butt a little pat. 

"What is - " 

"Read it later," the green man said, his sexy bass voice right in my ear. Then he stood to his towering seven-foot height and tugged me upright as well. No effort at all. To him I probably weighed less than a kitten and the crown of my head was just a smidgen higher than the top of his light-blue belt. 

"How's the air up there?" I teased. 

Piccolo just shook his head and smirked at my joke. The smirk faded quickly. He gazed down at me with serious gray eyes. "It's time, Cyndi." 

The blood drained from my face. I felt as if invisible hands just pulled everything inside me down into the floor. I choked up. This was the moment I'd been dreading. The moment I'd been trying to put off for as long as I could. Here stood the one person in the world who understood how I thought, felt and experienced things...and I couldn't be with him. 

Walking from the living room to my bedroom seemed like miles. Piccolo got there before I did. I entered just in time to see him sweep his weighted cape on. The only thing I thought to do was to stand on my bed and brush his antennae back for him while he donned his heavy turban. 

Piccolo seated himself on my bed to pull his shoes on. The lump in my throat grew. I sat down behind him and pressed my cheek against his strong back. His cape was soft against my face. Holding my tears back became impossible. 

And I cried. Hard. 

Piccolo didn't move. He just sat there, letting me cry against his back. Lending me some of his strength. Suddenly the world shifted. I found myself huddled close to a muscular chest. Strong arms cradled me. _Cradled_ me. 

"Shhh," his calm voice entered my ear. "Goodbyes aren't always forever, Cyndi. You know that as well as I do." 

"But I don't want to go for three years without seeing you!" I blubbered back. "That was like...seventeen years, your time." 

Ever-changing eyes smiled down at me. "And nothing changed between us, did it?" 

My tears gradually quieted. The choking sobs faded to shivers. I kept my face buried against his chest and listened to the sounds of his heartbeat and breathing. He held me for quite some time. It made me realize this was just as hard for him as it was for me. 

Piccolo's grasp relaxed. I heard rustling sounds. Next thing I knew he was standing with his back to me while I remained sitting on the bed. Without a view of his face I had no way of knowing what he was feeling. The only hints were his hands - tapered fingers rippling and finally clenching into fists. 

"Piccolo? Don't hide from me now. Tell me what you're feeling...please?" 

He turned to face me. Slowly. There were tears on his face, too. One on each cheek. A swipe of his hand removed them. "We'll meet again...soon." It sounded like more like self-reassurance than a hard fact. He hardened his expression a little. Dark hawk-fierce eyes fixed themselves on mine. "Close the box after I get through." 

I looked down at the silver box on the floor. Its stainless steel outer covering shimmered. Sitting inside was the velvet bag containing the necklace. All I had to do was flip the lid shut. 

Nodding my head, I stood up on my bed and hugged him fiercely. Piccolo hugged me back just as tight. So tight that he lifted me right off the bed. I turned my head and kissed him. Hard. Desperate. His response was just as intense. So powerful his fangs grazed my lips and tongue. There was nothing but the sensation of his warm, wet mouth moving against mine. I never wanted it to end. 

Piccolo's lips started pulling away. I leaned forward to recapture them. He put me down, but remained bent over while I kissed him. His leathery hand brushed up against my cheek and his heavy cape fell around us both. 

I felt his lips begin to move away from mine. I let him go this time. Piccolo straightened and looked down. He held me in his gaze for an eternity. Those dark eyes of his...deep gray with silver flecks near the pupils...reminded me of outer space. My eyes are blue - sometimes I wonder what they reminded him of, but I never asked. 

"I'll come back to see you real soon, kid. I promise." He repeated what he'd said earlier. 

"O-okay...when? How?" 

The frown creasing his brow relaxed. I watched him flash a sarcastic, closed-mouth smile. Like he knew the punchline of a joke only he understood. He bent down to eye-level with me, winked one eye shut and said, "You'll see. Trust me." 

That got a smile out of me. "I'll be waiting." 

Piccolo nodded, touched my cheek and stood up. He faced the rippling mirror sitting in front of my dresser. I grabbed onto his solid forearm with both hands and held on while he ducked into the swirling portal. His skin slipped against mine. Soon I held only his red-ringed wrist. Then his hand. Then his fingers. I kissed his emerald fingertips just a second before they slipped from my grasp. 

"I love you, Piccolo!" I shouted into the mirror. My lower lip quivered and his image blurred. God, this is so hard! 

Piccolo - now Anime - glanced over his shoulder. He smiled at me, made a fist as if to say 'stay strong' and continued on his way, majestic white cape swishing gently against his ankles. I watched him step up into the Lookout kitchen and turn around. Still smiling that sarcastic, almost mischievous little smile of his. What did he find so funny? 

I'll find out soon. 

I lifted up the little silver box. Piccolo nodded to me. We were still looking into each others' eyes when I pushed the lid shut. My mirror instantly went solid. The only thing gazing at me now was my own reflection. Piccolo had stepped out of my life again. 

But not forever. 

Then I remembered the note he tucked into my pocket. Did waiting until he left count as 'later'? That's probably what he meant. I reached into my pocket, retrieved the creased white paper and unfolded it to reveal his sloppy, yet graceful handwriting. 

My heart swelled and overflowed into my eyes. The paper shook in my hands. Only three words were written there. The three words Piccolo's pride would never let him say to my face. I don't have to repeat them...you already know what they are. 

I crushed the note against my chest and looked across the room at my Piccolo poster. His scent still filled my room. Desert dust with a hint of salt. 

And soon...I'd be smelling it from its source once again. Very soon. 

I scrambled over my bed, booted up the computer and started writing. 


	28. Epilogue

Self-insertion and mild language warning. Song credit goes to...well I won't tell yet. Don't want to spoil it. 

Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed this while it was in progress. You made this whole fic worth all the time and effort I put into it.   
  
  
  


_These Dreams_   
Epilogue

  
  
  
  


Twenty-seven chapters. That's how long the story I wrote is. Twenty-seven, counting the prologue and unfinished epilogue. All written in one massive swoop. I had a rough time coming up with a second-half title. Then I glanced down at one of my CD's. That's when it came to me. I quickly typed in the second half. 

The story's title? 

_I Still Believe/These Dreams._

While I proofread what I had so far...I saw Piccolo, Freeza, Vegeta and Void again. The fight. Our funny moments. Times when things were tougher than usual. The rush of power when I went Super Saiyajin. How spectacularly the battle ended. Piccolo and I... Every inch of my heart and soul is in this piece. 

Yet I felt like I did after seeing the last episode of DBZ. A little empty. Would there be other adventures? What if Piccolo never could come see me again? Did he just say that to me so I'd quit acting like a baby? 

No...he told me he loved me, in his own way, but he still did it. Heck, we'd gotten married - ages ago in the living room where I used to live. We exchanged rings and said some vows. God was our witness and our minister. Even if it wasn't legal, it meant just as much to me as a big church wedding. Maybe even more so. As I thought about it, I looked down at the shiny gold band on my finger. Beyond that were the new anklets and toe-rings Piccolo gave me. They glittered hopefully up at me. 

Smells of warm butter and vegetables reached me from the kitchin. Mom was making meatloaf. Yum, yum. My stomach turned over in hunger. 

Also, the TV in the living room was on pretty loud. My ears caught a 'glimpse' of Barbara Walters giving a news report. "...we still have no idea what happened. People are waking up everywhere with no memory of why they were unconscious..." 

I hate the news, personally, and never watch unless it's something important. Like the Shock and Awe thing. I say everybody who has a family member that died on September Eleventh should be allowed to bust a cap in the asses of both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. I hope those two bastards turn up soon so they can be publicly executed. 

I know that isn't a very Catholic way of thinking, but those two just make my blood boil. 

Due to my short attention span I took a break for the millionth time, drifting away from my work to surf the web. First off I checked my email. There was one message. 

It was from Father Jim. Due to his hands he has trouble typing, so his messages are always pretty short and abbreviated. 

_c,_

_ i remember. thx for saving our dreams._

_ jim_

I giggled. He remembered! I immediately sent him a 'you're welcome' reply. Then it was off to Fanfiction.net. 

Remember that girl I mentioned? I told her to go write...and she did. By reading it I learned her name was Ami and she had a wild adventure with Vegeta. Very wild indeed, and not always fun or happy. But still, she told her story just as honestly as I'm telling mine. I wish her much luck! 

It was five-thirty in the afternoon. I knew because that's when dad gets home from work. His car pulled up, cut off and the door thumped shut. I heard his boots click up to the front porch. The screen opened, closed and the lock clicked. Next thing I knew his six-foot five-inch frame came walking past my room. He looked a little tired after work, the days are always rough, but otherwise he sounded okay. 

"Hi, kid!" 

"Hey dad! Boy is it a relief that...whatever happened to everyone...is over." 

"Mmhmm. We'll talk about it when I go to bed." Dad's keys rattled against his dresser. He took out his wallet, dropped his loose change and sat down to take off his boots. The zippers whirred like clockwork. 

Trying not to get emotional proved tough. For me it's been ages since I saw them. They were my parents and I couldn't share my adventure with them because they just wouldn't understand. 

But I know you do. You were there, right there with me. 

I flipped my TV on. Cartoon Network was still playing re-runs of the last season of DBZ. Sorta. Less than a minute after the show started, my mom came walking in with dinner. Meatloaf, baked potatoes and steamed vegetables. VEGETAbles...hehe! Because of my dad's disagreeable stomach, our dinners are pretty routine. That way if he eats something out of the ordinary he'll know what made him sick. It's also how, in my ditzy moments, I remember what day it is - by recalling what I had for dinner either that night or the night before. 

"Hey mom?" 

She stopped in the hall. "Yeah?" 

"I'm glad you're all right." I used my fork to cut the meatloaf into smaller chunks. Its aromas made my mouth water. "You know...after what happened." 

"Me too." Mom said back. She slurped some melted butter off her thumb, winked at me and headed out into the kitchen to get my dad his dinner. I immediately dug into mine...and I must say my mom makes the best meatloaf on the planet! It just melts in your mouth. 

Before I knew it, six o'clock rolled around. It was dad's turn to use the computer. I'd have to finish the epilogue later.   
  


Toonami was done. I spent the next hour making dream catchers from bracelets, thread, spare beads and feathers from my dad's old feather pillow. Dunno why...I guess to remind me of what happened. Thanks to previous experience I completed two in an hour. I probably could've done more, but thread is harder to work with than string. I hung the first one up on a wall in the room I was currently in. The empty nail used to hold a calendar. Now it held something much prettier. 

The second one was blue. It didn't match much in my room, but I hung it up on the pull-cord for my ceiling light/fan anyway. 

My dad watched me hang my dream catcher up. He clicked out of Netscape and said, "Turn the computer off for me." 

I glanced over at him, "No prob." 

I got the computer settled. My next job was turning the beds down. That didn't take me very long. I soon found myself sitting in the recliner next to the bed while dad settled down. I confirmed his alarm was set and shut off the light. 

"So, what do you know about all this mess that happened?" I asked him. 

Dad yawned and rubbed his eyes. The only reason I saw it is because, next door on the right, my bedroom light was on. It cast just enough light for me to see around the darkened room. "I only know as much as you do, which is nothing. It could've been a weird terrorist attack or any other number of things. Mass hypnosis...never know these days." 

Boy did he not have a clue! But I could make jokes about it, now that it was over. 

I curled my fingers into claws and giggled, "Ooh, maybe it was a big, ugly bug monster!" 

"Hah-hah!" He laughed at that, "Only you would think of something silly like that." 

"Heh, yeah." 

The sheets rustled. My dad turned over onto his right side, the side he goes to sleep on. He must've been tired after a rough workday, but I didn't feel like questioning him about it. If it was really bad he'd have told me about it. "Say g'night, kid." 

"G'night, kid." I replied jokingly. Then I stood up to kiss my dad's cheek and paddled his butt. "G'night, daddy. Sleep tight." 

"'night." 

That was that. I slid from dad's room and entered my own, shutting the door behind me. I wedged a soft-cover book under the door so the cat couldn't just push it open on me. I hate my door, all you have to do is push and it'll open, no turning of the knob required. The book also makes the door a little harder to open...and since I always sneak back onto the computer when dad goes to bed, jamming the door gives me more time to shut off the screen whenever someone knocks(ninety-nine percent of the time it's just my mom, argh!). 

I slid a DBZ tape into my VCR and turned it on. On it were the episodes where Piccolo fused with Kami and battled Cell. Bad memories there, I switched to the tape with Piccolo training chibi Gohan. The episodes with Piccolo's true voice - not the clogged-sounding wannabe we all hear from mid-Freeza saga on. I'll never forget how hard Piccolo laughed when I let _him_ hear it while we fooled around in my room. And it takes a lot to get even a chuckle out of him. 

Grinning, I turned the computer on, brought up the unfinished part of my story and wrote in the last few paragraphs. The next several hours were spent proofreading everything. Over and over...reliving, revising and perfecting. All to the sounds of Piccolo's voice filtering off my TV. It made me miss him even more. Especially since the TV masks all the different undertones in his voice...it has a growl to it that just doesn't transmit over TV speakers very well. Sometimes he makes little rumbling sounds when he breathes out - you don't hear that on TV either. At least not unless he does it loud. Which is rare. 

I clearly remember it being midnight when I finished proofreading everything. Twelve o'clock on the dot. 

Can you believe I got emotional when I realized I'd finished this? For a few moments I actually couldn't move. All I did was stare at the long masses of paragraphs, words and letters. Unable to believe _I wrote_ it. I actually cried when I realized there wasn't anything else to add. No amount of proofreading let me find anything I forgot to mention. No places to add something in. It was done. 

And now it was time to share it. 

I opened Fanfiction.net, logged into my account and started uploading. Everything was up in about five minutes. Before long, people would see it, read it, and Believe. 

You're one of them. I know because you're here right now, and it's because of you that everyone can dream safely again. Thank you, Believers. 

Now very heavy-hearted, I switched my computer off. Stared at the blank screen. Tiredness made my eyelids droop. I went through all my nightly rituals and settled down in bed. 

But for some reason I didn't want silence. I was used to hearing Piccolo breathe next to me, either while he meditated or slept himself. The silence...it just didn't settle well with me. I guess I'll just get used to sleeping alone again. 

I plucked my discman off the desk, slipped my headphones on and felt around for the PLAY button. I listened to a few different songs, all by Heart. I was already asleep when the opening strains of my favorite song(by her) filtered into my subconscious. Sometimes if I play music when I'm sleepy, I still hear it when my brain falls asleep. 

The song...its haunting music and lyrics, echoed into my dream as I slept soundly for the first time in a long while.   
  


_Spare a little candle,_   
_save some light for me._   
_Figures up ahead,_   
_moving in the trees._   
_White skin...in linen._   
_Perfume on my wrist._   
_And the full moon that hangs over_   
_These dreams in the mist_. 

_Darkness on the edge._   
_Shadows where I stand._   
_I search for the time_   
_on a watch with no hands._   
_I want to see you clearly,_   
_come closer than this._   
_But all I remember_   
_are the dreams in the mist_. 

The first thing I noticed was a cool silver fog all around. Cool as in chilly, but not uncomfortably so. In it I saw an indistinct shape moving about. Stars shone above...millions of stars like you see at night in the desert. Oh, but they were ten times more brilliant! 

All at once the fog swirled. Two hands reached out and snatched me forward. Next thing I knew I was pressed close to a strong chest...my Real contours contrasting against jagged Anime ones. The shape pulled me forward so quickly that we both twirled in mid-air. Finally a face came into view. A handsome, angular green face with dark eyes, a teardrop nose and lips drawn into a tight line. 

Shocked, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Piccolo!" 

"Hey, kid." Piccolo gazed down at me, liquid-black eyes twinkling. His lips didn't smile, but his eyes did. "I told you I'd be back." 

_These dreams go on when I close my eyes._   
_Every second of the night_   
_I live another life._   
_These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside._   
_Every moment I'm awake,_   
_the further I'm away._

_Is it cloak 'n dagger?_   
_Could it be spring or fall?_   
_I walk without a cut_   
_through a stained glass wall._

_Weaker in my eyesight._   
_The candle in my grip._   
_And words that have no form_   
_are falling from my lips._

I hugged him again. Tightly. Glad to know I didn't have to stop seeing him. Then I leaned up to capture his soft lips. A glow came between us when our mouths touched. Piccolo didn't even hesitate to kiss me back this time. He placed a hand on the back of my head to hold me there. Our tongues touched and mingled. My breath rushed out...he'd stolen it again. 

There was a soft swishing sound. I looked up. 

A goldish glow swept down Piccolo's body, making his jagged Anime features less distinct. Right before my eyes he faded from Anime to Real. Then he smiled, his eyelids lowering slightly. Oh God, all the stars seemed to fall right into his dark gray eyes. I've never seen him look at me with such unmasked emotion. Right then I knew he was and always will be my soulmate. 

They say love has no boundaries. Now I know it's true. Here we were, two people from completely different worlds, and we have almost everything in common. Like two puzzle pieces that belonged together. Yin and yang. 

And staying with him _was_ possible after all...even if it's only in my dreams. 

But that's good enough for me. 

Thank you, Believers. This is all possible because of you. 

_These dreams go on when I close my eyes._   
_Every second of the night_   
_I live another life._   
_These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside._   
_Every moment I'm awake,_   
_the further I'm away._

_There's something out there_   
_I cant resist._   
_I need to hide away_   
_from the pain._   
_There's something out there_   
_I cant resist!_

_The sweetest song is silence_   
_that I've ever heard._   
_Funny how your feet_   
_in dreams never touch the earth.___

I slid an arm free and took Piccolo's hand. He watched me curiously. I just gave him a little tug and off we went, swirling into the mist. We twirled through outer space, glided over sparkling oceans and drifted across distant skies. Smiling, laughing and having a grand old time. We never touched the ground. Not even once.__

_In a wood full of princes,_   
_freedom is a kiss._   
_But the prince hides his face_   
_from dreams in the mist._

"Cyndi," Piccolo slid free and gazed down at me, his eyes curious. "Just how big _is_ your imagination?" 

"I dunno." I took his hand, smiling. "Let's find out!" 

And off we went. 

_These dreams go on when I close my eyes._   
_Every second of the night_   
_I live another life._   
_These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside._   
_Every moment I'm awake,_   
_the further I'm away._

_These dreams go on when I close my eyes._   
_Every second of the night_   
_I live another life._   
_These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside._   
_Every moment I'm awake,_   
_the further I'm away_...   


  


~¤§The End§¤~   
Thanks for Believing! 

  
  


Song credit: "These Dreams", by Heart. 


End file.
